PORT ANGELES — Two people were booked into the Clallam County jail after unrelated alleged drunken driving incidents on Eighth Street in Port Angeles that happened at roughly the same time Thanksgiving night.
One incident involved a crash into an apartment building and the other a police pursuit to Lower Elwha Road.
At about 10:15 p.m. a blue truck ran into an apartment building on the 600 block of West Eighth Street, several witnesses told police.
The dispatcher was advised that the driver of the truck was arguing with people at the scene.
Police found a Dodge 4-by-4 pickup heavily damaged and embedded into the side of a building. No injuries were reported. The street was blocked.
The driver, Heather O’Hara, 27, was arrested and booked for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol. The Port Angeles building inspection office was contacted to see if the damaged building was safe. Police did not have a dollar estimate of the damage. There was no information available Saturday about the integrity of the building, but police said they did not know of any people being displaced.
Second incident
Roughly 30 minutes after this wreck, Port Angeles police officers and the department’s K-9 unit pursued a man driving through the streets of west Port Angeles.
Jesse Eisenhower, 29, of Port Angeles was booked for investigation of eluding a police vehicle, driving while his license suspended, driving under the influence of alcohol and hit and run, property damage.
At about 10:48 p.m., Port Angeles Officer Whitney Fairbanks had notified dispatch that she observed a vehicle run a stoplight on Eighth Street at Cherry Street.
Port Angeles officers said that the vehicle was failing to yield to police and that the driver appeared to be attempting to elude officers.
Eisenhower’s vehicle sideswiped a vehicle that had stopped near the Eighth Street Bridge because of emergency vehicles in the road at the earlier crash, Sgt. Tom Kuch said.
Eisenhower’s vehicle proceeded onto I Street, L Street and then west on Edgewood Road, according to the police report.
He lost control of his vehicle near Lower Elwha Road and crashed off the roadway, police said.
He was confronted by police and then fled south into nearby woods, where he was eventually caught and arrested by Fairbanks, her K-9 “Copper” and other officers. He was examined at the scene then booked into custody at 4:53 a.m. Friday. His bail was set at $10,000.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, the Lower Elwha Police and the State Patrol assisted Port Angeles police.
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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be reached at plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.
