PORT ANGELES — North Olympic Peninsula law enforcement emergency personnel were hoping for a quieter Christmas Day after a Christmas Eve filled with dozens of snow-related vehicle collisions, two of which resulted in injuries.
Port Angeles received 5 inches and Port Townsend 3 inches by the time the snow ended early this morning, according to the National Weather Service.
A 75-year-old Puyallup woman was a passenger in a vehicle involved in an 8 p.m. Sunday collision 17 miles west of Port Townsend west of Center Road.
Ila M. Zbaraschuk was in a vehicle being driven eastbound on state Highway 104 just west of Center Road by Reuben I. Zbaraschuk, 75, of Puyallup when he attempted to slow the vehicle due to weather, according to a State Patrol report.
She was transported to Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton, where her condition was unavailable at noon today.
Rueben Zbaraschuk’s 2011 Chevy Aveo crossed the westbound lane, went into a westbound ditch and struck a tree, incurring serious damage, the State Patrol said.
A second injury mishap occurred south of Sequim.
A female whose age was unavailable this morning was involved in a three-vehicle collision at 1 a.m. this morning at Palo Alto and Youngquist roads. She was transported to Olympic Medical Center, Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Federline said.
The female was temporarily trapped in the vehicle following the collision, which included one vehicle that rolled over, Federline said.
Federline said she was conscious, breathing and responding normally when she was transferred to OMC.
An OMC spokeswoman said the injured person was transferred from the hospital.
Her condition or where she was transferred to was unavailable this morning.
There were 47 “accident-vehicle” reports on the Clallam County Sheriff’s call-for-service log that is made available to the Peninsula Daily News.
They typically involved vehicles following too closely and vehicles ending up in ditches, Federline and Port Angeles Police Officer Kyle Cooper said.
Mishap totals for Jefferson County were unavailable early this afternoon.
Snow that fell Christmas Eve and Christmas morning will melt, then is expected to freeze tonight, National Weather Service Meteorologist Johnny Burg said this afternoon.
Lows tonight are expected to be 29 in Sequim, 31 in Port Angeles and 32 in Port Townsend, he said.
There is a chance of light snow and rain tomorrow in Clallam and Jefferson counties, with highs around 40 degrees, he said.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
