PORT ANGELES — She was a stylish girl with her own spunk, and always had a smile for anyone who needed it.
That’s how Hayley Haller, 17, of Port Angeles was described by friends and family members who gathered Monday at the home she shared with her mother and younger sister, Holly and Lacey Haller.
The group was poring over photos of Hayley spread about the kitchen table — and still trying to comprehend the fiery car crash that took Hayley’s life early Sunday morning.
Hayley, who didn’t have a driver’s license, had taken her mom’s 2001 Lexus sedan without permission and crashed it into a billboard support beam about 4:20 a.m. near Elwha Road on U.S. Highway 101.
The speed of the impact was enough to split the car in two fiery parts about 50 feet apart.
One half ignited the billboard, lighting the predawn sky of eastern Port Angeles.
Holly said she noticed the Lexus missing about 3:30 a.m., called Hayley on her cell phone and told her to come home or she would call the cops.
Hayley Haller took the car to meet up with her friend, Chad Johnstad, 21, and told her mother that she was on her way home and that Johnstad was going to follow her, Holly Haller said.
About 4:15 a.m., David Arand, a patrol officer for the Port Angeles Police Department, saw Haller speeding along one of the Eight Street bridges and started pursuing her after she failed to pull over, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Johnstad said he was right behind Haller when Arand signaled to pull over, and that neither car was going any faster than 35 mph.
When the patrol car kept following the Lexus, Johnstad thought it was because her mother called the police.
He tried calling her on his cell phone to tell her it would be OK and to pull over for the cops, he said Monday night.
“She took off because she was scared,” Johnstad said.
“I’ve played it over and over in my head.”
