Drivers escaped serious injuries in two separate wrecks that sent their vehicles sliding down steep embankments in Clallam County on Thursday.
Neither Abraham Blaylock, 24, nor Caitlin Peterson, 22, both of Port Angeles, was severely hurt, according to reports.
The wreck involving Blaylock slowed morning traffic on state Highway 112 as his pickup truck was raised back to the roadway after sliding over a 50-foot embankment.
Blaylock was driving a 1998 GMC truck westbound on Highway 112, said Trooper Russ Winger, State Patrol spokesman.
At 6:19 a.m. near Green Creek, Blaylock, who was traveling alone, attempted to pass another vehicle in a no-passing zone, Winger said.
Blaylock lost control, and his truck hit a guardrail and slid down 50 feet, Winger added.
Blaylock managed to climb out of the truck and get a ride to Forks Community Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries and discharged, Winger said.
Winger said Blaylock was cited for speed too fast for conditions.
The state Department of Transportation partially closed Highway 112 at 9:55 a.m. for a tow truck to remove the truck, limiting the road to alternating one-way traffic.
The truck was pulled up the embankment, and the highway was reopened at 10:45 a.m.
Two hours after the Highway 112 wreck, Peterson’s 2013 Ford Focus slid down a 25-foot embankment near Lake Sutherland.
Peterson was driving eastbound on South Shore Road at about 8:16 a.m., according to authorities.
Peterson told firefighters from Clallam County Fire District No. 2 that she had been distracted, and when she looked up, she was sliding down the embankment.
The Ford first hit a very large stump, then slid down “a sheer embankment” and came to rest against a second stump, said Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Backes.
Peterson was able to get out of the car but could not climb the slope back to the road, Backes said.
Firefighters lowered Peterson down the slick, steep hillside to an accessible area below the wreck site.
Peterson was trapped midslope on a soft, wet surface, so firefighters chose to lower the patient down the hill via rescue rope, said District No. 2 Chief Sam Phillips,
Peterson told emergency responders she was not injured and declined transport to Olympic Medical Center, Phillips said.
Peterson was cited for unsafe turning, Backes said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
