PORT ANGELES — A 27-year-old Port Angeles man who was allegedly using his cellphone escaped serious injury after crashing his car into a tree.
Sergio Contreras-Guizar was cited for speeding too fast for conditions — a $136 traffic infraction — after suffering scrapes and bruises in the 6 p.m. Wednesday mishap in the 2000 block of Little River Road, Clallam County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Brian King said Thursday.
King said Contreras-Guizar, driving a 2000 Nissan Maxima, was wearing a seat belt and also was protected by an air bag that deployed.
Drugs and alcohol were not factors, but a cellphone was, King said.
Contreras-Guizar was traveling eastbound on Little River Road and using his cellphone when he drifted into the eastbound lane after a vehicle passed him going westbound, King said.
“What function he was using, I do not know,” King said.
Contreras-Guizar overcorrected after the vehicle passed him, drifting across the eastbound lane and leaving the roadway, and collided with a tree, King said.
Contreras-Guizar had initially told authorities he had swerved to miss an oncoming vehicle and lost control, Clallam County Fire District No. 2 Assistant Chief Mike DeRousie said late Wednesday in a press release.
“The other vehicle had nothing to do with why the collision occurred,” King said.
Speed did not appear to be a factor, he added.
The infraction of use of a personal device while driving also carries a $136 fine, King said.
The infraction that Contreras-Guizar was cited for “was a better fit,” King said.
“This is a significant collision with a tree, and certainly he is lucky his injuries were extremely minimal,” King added.
The right front of Contreras-Guizar’s Nissan ripped off the vehicle, which spun 180 degrees after impact before stopping, DeRousie said.
“It broke the axle and peeled back the side of the car,” he said.
The driver had extricated himself by the time Fire District No. 2 emergency responders arrived.
________
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@ peninsuladailynews.com.
