JOYCE — An unidentified 73-year-old man was taken to Olympic Medical Center after he drove off state Highway 112 at milepost 35 past Deep Creek.
First responders said that he appeared to have suffered a medical emergency.
District 4 firefighters arrived at 8:12 a.m. Wednesday with seven personnel, one command vehicle, one engine and two ambulances due to confusion over whether one or two vehicles were involved, said Clallam County Fire District 4 Chief Greg Waters.
“It appears the driver was heading westbound to Neah Bay when suffered medical emergency,” Waters said.
“He went off the north side of Highway 112, landing on his right side in a pretty deep ravine. The vehicle was unstable in a very precarious position in the ravine.
“So we had to use advanced stabilization techniques. Then once the vehicle was stabilized, we cut out the windshield and took him out through there,” Waters said.
The driver suffered minor injuries as well as the medical emergency.
“There also was a dog in the vehicle that survived with no injuries. The driver was taken to OMC,” Waters said.
Both directions of the highway were blocked for between 45 minutes and an hour, he said.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@sound publishing.com.
