PORT ANGELES — A man police identified as the driver of a car that struck a guardrail and landed upside-down in the shallow Valley Creek Estuary early Friday morning was in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center on Saturday.
Grant Eastman, 21, was airlifted to the Seattle hospital after the single-vehicle wreck involving four people.
Passengers Christina L. Green, 28, and Elijah F. Jackson, 18, were treated at Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles and discharged, according to a Port Angeles Police Department news release.
Eastman’s brother, Mitchel S. Ward, 18, also was treated and released at OMC, their mother, Nora Eastman, said Saturday.
She said Ward, Eastman and Jackson grew up together, and Green is Jackson’s girlfriend.
On Friday morning, Nora Eastman received two phone calls from two different hospitals about her sons.
“I’m just so grateful both my boys were able to walk away,” Nora Eastman said. “It’s the worst feeling to get two phone calls about your sons on the same day.”
Now, Ward is resting at home and Grant Eastman has been moved from the intensive care unit, she said.
“This is totally out of character for my sons,” Nora Eastman said. “Nothing like this has ever happened to my family.”
“I would go back in time if I could and stop it from happening,” she added.
After Jackson received care, Police Chief Brian Smith said, officers booked him into the Clallam County jail on outstanding probable cause on an unrelated criminal case. Jackson did not appear on the jail roster Saturday.
At about 1:27 a.m. Friday, Clallam County Sheriff Deputy Bill Cortani attempted to stop a silver four-door Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV that was speeding and driving “erratically” westbound on U.S. Highway 101 east of Port Angeles, according to a news release.
Cortani estimated the SUV was traveling at about 70 mph before he began to pursue the car, Smith said.
The SUV continued to pull away from the deputy as it headed toward East Front Street downtown, Smith said. The chief added that Cortani maintained a distance of several blocks from the car for safety.
When they reached the area of 300 West Front Street, officers found the damaged guardrail and the Jeep Grand Cherokee upside-down in shallow water. Clallam County Fire District No. 2 firefighters reported the tide was out at the time of the wreck.
Officers found three people in the car, none of whom was able to get out of the vehicle on his or her own.
Cpl. Sky Sexton heard Eastman calling for help. His torso was partially outside of the car and in the water. Officers later reported he was in danger of drowning, according to the release.
Sexton entered the car through a broken passenger window and cut Eastman’s seat belt off with Port Angeles Police Officer Jared Tait’s assistance.
Officer Harry Balderson found the fourth person on an embankment.
When the fire department arrived, paramedics took over patient care and extricated the remaining passengers.
All four people were transported to OMC. Eastman was later airlifted to Harborview Medical Center, according to the release.
Smith said beer cans were on the scene of the wreck. A blood test will reveal the blood alcohol concentration of the man identified as the driver.
The police department will investigate “vehicular assault, driving under the influence, reckless driving and/or attempting to elude police officers,” according to the release.
Multiple agencies responded to the wreck, including the Port Angeles Police Department, Clallam County Fire District No. 2, State Patrol, Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and Olympic Ambulance.
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Reporter Sarah Sharp can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or at ssharp@peninsula dailynews.com.
