PORT ANGELES — A driver lost control of a Nissan Pathfinder on Little River Road southwest of Port Angeles early Sunday and plunged down a wooden embankment, authorities said.
The 28-year-old driver, Gabriel Kenneth Mahlum of Chemult, Ore., was treated for injuries and booked into the Clallam County jail for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol, Clallam County Sheriff’s Office Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron said.
Mahlum was traveling northeast on Little River Road between U.S. Highway 101 and Black Diamond Road when he lost control of the SUV at about 2 a.m. Sunday, Clallam County Fire District No. 2 Assistant Chief Mike DeRousie said.
“The vehicle appeared to take the corner too fast,” Cameron said.
The Pathfinder came to rest on the steep embankment against a grove of trees.
The driver had climbed out of the vehicle and up the embankment before first responders arrived, DeRousie said.
Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Cortani said the SUV fell about 25 feet down the embankment.
A medical unit from Fire District No. 2 treated Mahlum at the scene and took him to Olympic Medical Center for further treatment before he was booked into jail, DeRousie said.
Mahlum was the lone occupant in the vehicle.
A pair of breathalyzer tests taken after the wreck detected Mahlum had blood-alcohol levels of 0.219 and 0.214 percent, Cameron said.
The results of a blood-alcohol test administered at OMC are pending.
The legal driving limit for alcohol in Washington is 0.08 percent.
Clallam County Fire District No. 2 responded with seven personnel, one command vehicle, one medical unit and a fire engine, DeRousie said.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
