Earlier try at suicide may have led to fatal car crash
Heikki Kanerva, 39, had cut his throat on the day of the crash at his Kirkland home in a suicide attempt, the report said. But whether that injury and the resulting blood loss played a role in the crash, in which a Yakima County woman was also killed, is not known, said the State Patrol.
Kanerva was killed when his 1996 Porsche 911 collided with a rented motor home driven by Stacy Jo Yager, a 34-year-old mother of two from Selah. Both were killed instantly.
Because there was no apparent reason for the collision, and because Kanerva had reportedly been depressed in the days leading up to the accident, the State Patrol had investigated whether Kanerva could have deliberately pulled in front of the motor home. Investigators, however, could not determine whether the crash was deliberate and ruled Kanerva's manner of death to be undetermined.
An autopsy noted his neck wound, in addition to the injuries suffered in the high-speed traffic collision. The report said the wound could have played a role in the crash.
Trooper Lance Ramsay, a spokesman for the State Patrol, said tests conducted after the accident showed Kanerva did not have drugs or alcohol in his system. No suicide note was left.
"We could speculate that the possible blood loss contributed to him drifting across the center line," Ramsay said. "But we just don't know."
For the family of Yager, the report brings little solace.
"We take things one day at a time," said Rick Glein, Yager's brother who lives in Kirkland. "We're just thankful my niece and nephew weren't in the motor home."
Yager's family has filed a claim against Kanerva's estate. "Obviously no amount of money could fix what happened," Glein said. "The bottom line is my sister is gone and we have to carry on for the kids' sake."
Yager, a product manager at Tree Top, had just rented the motor home in Monroe so she and her family could ride in comfort to watch her husband compete in a triathlon in Penticton, B.C. The couple's children, ages 8 and 11, were riding with their grandmother, Judy Downing, in a minivan behind the motor home and witnessed the crash.
Waldo Downing, Yager's stepfather, was riding in the motor home. His leg was broken in the crash, but he crawled trough a window to escape from the burning wreckage.
The crash raised questions because there were no easy explanations.
It wasn't raining. Visibility was good. Kanerva wasn't believed to have been speeding. There was nothing unusual about traffic that day on Highway 522 just southwest of Monroe. The accident occurred in a passing zone, although it's unclear whether Kanerva was trying to pass another car.
Then there was Kanerva's mental state.
Those closest to Kanerva said the Microsoft executive was deeply depressed during the days leading up to the crash.
He wasn't sleeping, was often seen crying and had taken to driving his car or motorcycle on Highway 522 in Snohomish County to blow off steam
His secretary said the 13-year Microsoft employee had learned a week earlier that his supervisor didn't consider him vice-president material, according to a State Patrol investigation. Kanerva had sorely wanted to be a vice president for Microsoft and the news came as a crushing blow, say those who knew the native of Finland.
According to the State Patrol report, Kanerva complained that he didn't feel well and left the Microsoft campus early on Aug. 21. He signed some closing documents for the sale of his house in Redmond and eventually returned to the Kirkland condominium he had just moved into with his girlfriend. According to Kirkland police reports, he apparently sliced his throat with a knife at the condo.
It's unclear how long Kanerva remained at his condo before he got into his Porsche and headed east on Highway 522. As he crossed the bridge where the highway passes over the Snohomish River, going east toward Monroe, he crashed head-on into the 28-foot motor home.
Witnesses to the crash told troopers that it appeared Kanerva was driving closely behind a red Ford Mustang before he pulled into oncoming traffic. Because Kanerva was burned so badly, it wasn't until after his girlfriend called 911 to report finding a large pool of blood in their bathtub and the Porsche missing that troopers were able to identify who was behind the wheel.
According to the State Patrol report, the girlfriend, who'd met Kanerva through an online dating service in April, led Kirkland police to the upstairs bathroom of their $800,000 condo. Officers not only found a bloody bathtub, but a bloody knife and the green sweater Kanerva wore to work, also covered in blood in the tub.
"Along with the pressures of being tired of his work at Microsoft, a new relationship and being far away from his mother and sister in Finland, Heikki began to get very depressed," the girlfriend told police. "Heikki has never mentioned any thoughts of hurting himself."
Kanerva served as director of Office program management. He helped run Microsoft's Office software suite of word-processing, spreadsheet and other applications. A former member of the Finnish Olympic cross-country ski team and graduate of the University of Alaska, Kanerva joined Microsoft in 1989.
Dan Morgan, a close friend of Kanerva's who lives in San Jose, Calif., described Kanerva as determined to become a vice president at Microsoft, according to State Patrol investigators.
Vesa Suomalainen, another friend, told investigators Kanerva was not happy at the company. He said Kanerva was one step from becoming a vice president but cultural and language barriers were a struggle for him.
Stacy Drake, a Microsoft spokeswoman, said Kanerva had recently been promoted. She said the company was "deeply saddened about the loss of a colleague. Our hearts go out to both families involved."
Jennifer Sullivan: 425-783-0604 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com.