PORT ANGELES – After a speeding Mazda sedan flew into the Port Angeles Boat Haven and sank Monday night, a sheen of oil developed on the marina surface, likely grease and oil from the engine.
But the contamination was contained that night, said Port of Port Angeles Deputy Executive Director Dave Hagiwara on Wednesday, a day after the land-based vehicle was removed from the aquatic parking lot.
The State Patrol hired a three-person diving team from Scuba Supplies in Port Angeles to attach inflatable bags to the car, then tie the car to a tow truck’s winch.
But to get the car to a tow truck, it had to be towed by a small port-owned boat out of the marina and along the shoreline to the west boat ramp.
During that trip, the port employees kept an eye on the water for more oil, but did not see any, he said.
Hagiwara said absorbent booms were placed in the water shortly after police excitement in the marina calmed down after midnight Monday.
The sheen was small, he said, indicating that the engine compartment and fuel tank probably did not leak.
The state Department of Ecology was notified, Hagiwara said, but because the sheen was small, the agency did not get involved.
The Mazda flew between 175 and 180 feet into the marina from the parking lot to the east and about 15 feet above, ending a Monday night police chase.
Jesse Yaun, 36, of Port Angeles, was charged in Clallam County Superior Court on Tuesday with attempting to elude a police vehicle, reckless driving, hit and run, driving without a license, driving under the influence of alcohol and resisting arrest.
Two State Patrol officers pursued Yaun along Front Street and Marine Drive, starting at about 10:30 p.m.
Yaun reached speeds as high as 85 mph, ignored traffic lights and drove straight into the marina parking lot where Marine Drive turns south, according to court documents.
Yaun clipped a car at the west end of the parking lot before hitting a car-stop parking aid, popping into the air, wrecking a fence and soaring into the marina.
Hagiwara said that as strange as Monday’s event was, the port and its marina customers are lucky that the car went directly into the water.
“For as bad as the incident was, it could have been much worse,” Hagiwara said.
“There could have been some tragic damage if it had hit a boat or started a fire.”
