PORT ANGELES — Police have identified the driver of a fatal wreck that occurred late Wednesday afternoon on U.S. Highway 101 in Port Angeles.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as 41-year-old Andrew Hinrichs of Port Angeles; he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A passenger, 18-year-old Richard Phelps of Port Angeles, was transported to Olympic Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
A dog was also located in the vehicle and transported to a local animal hospital.
Port Angeles police said the truck went over an embankment at U.S. Highway 101 and Pine Street on Wednesday afternoon.
Interim police Chief Brian Smith said the truck was “beyond recognition” as fire crews worked to extricate an occupant from the vehicle in the Valley Creek ravine at about 5 p.m.
The high-speed wreck blocked both lanes of U.S. Highway 101 west of Oak Street, Smith said.
The truck came to a rest on the south side of the highway. The wreck was reported at about 4:15 p.m.
Police quoted witnesses who reported that the vehicle had been traveling eastbound when it drifted off the south side of the roadway and into the gully. The cause of the collision is still under investigation; no other vehicles were involved.
The Port Angeles Police Department was assisted in the investigation by personnel from the Port Angeles Fire Department, Washington State Patrol, Lower Elwha Police Department, Clallam County Sheriff’s Department and the Washington State Department of Transportation.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
