OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Two skiers whose sport utility vehicle plunged 450 feet off Hurricane Ridge Road on Saturday afternoon were returned to the road virtually uninjured.
Jennifer M. Maurer, 22, and Ryan L. Brumbagh, 21, both of Seattle, were transported back to Port Angeles, but not to the hospital, Olympic National Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said.
Maurer received a Band-Aid for her finger, Maynes said.
The 1993 Jeep Cherokee was not so lucky, and rangers were still unsure how to remove it below where it plunged over the side of the road, which rises into the Olympic Mountains to the popular Hurricane Ridge ski area.
In addition to park rangers, Clallam County Search and Rescue, Olympic Mountain Rescue, Clallam County Fire District No. 2 and members of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene about eight miles south of Port Angeles after 9-1-1 dispatchers received word of the crash at 3:13 p.m., said Dee Renee Ericks, Olympic National Park east district ranger and incident commander.
First word of the crash came when passers-by noticed a set of tire marks in the snow leading to nowhere.
The Jeep apparently didn’t go over the edge all at once, said rescuer Bill Tiderman, who talked to witnesses at the scene and climbed down the hill to help Maurer back to the road.
He said before the vehicle went down the hill, it teetered for a moment.
“Are we going to make it?” Tiderman said, recounting what could have been the couple’s discussion.
“Nope.”
Included in the 450-foot drop were two cliffs, both between 30 and 40 feet high, Maynes said.
She said the vehicle tumbled at least four times on its way down.
“It must have been a terrifying ride,” Maynes said.
