OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Two tourists from Ohio have been treated and discharged from Olympic Medical Center after their minivan plunged 25 feet off Hurricane Ridge Road near the summit and overturned 1½ times.
The wreck, which was at about 4:51 p.m. Friday, was about 3 miles below Hurricane Ridge near the Switchback trailhead, said Barb Maynes, Olympic National Park spokeswoman, on Saturday.
The driver of the van, a 77-year-old-man, was extricated from the late-model Chrysler Town & Country minivan after he reportedly became distracted by the view and drove off the road near Milepost 15 on the road south of Port Angeles, Maynes said.
“They had been driving up the hill toward Hurricane Ridge admiring the scenery and how beautiful it is, and they drove off the road,” Maynes said.
The driver and two passengers from Ashland, Ohio, were on a motor tour of the West Coast, Maynes said.
Their names were not available Saturday, she said, adding that the two taken to the Port Angeles hospital had been discharged.
Initially, two passengers were trapped inside the minivan, said Chief Sam Phillips of Clallam County Fire District No. 2.
One of the passengers — a 48-year-old woman — “was able to get out of the vehicle and walked up to the road to flag other drivers down,” Maynes said.
Before rescuers arrived, a 72-year-old man, another passenger, was also able to get out of the car and get up to the road, she added.
The driver “needed assistance to get out,” she said.
Twelve firefighter/paramedics from Fire District No. 2, along with two firefighters and four rangers from the park, worked to free the driver.
Hydraulic cutting tools were not used during the rescue operation, Maynes said.
Emergency personnel used a Stokes stretcher, which was lowered to the minivan.
The basket-style stretcher is designed to be used where there are obstacles to movement or other hazards, including slopes and wooded terrain.
The man was removed from the vehicle and strapped into the basket, making safe evacuation possible, firefighters said.
Paramedics said they treated the two passengers for non-life-threatening injuries and transported them via ambulance to the hospital.
Hurricane Ridge Road was intermittently blocked in both lanes during the three-hour operation, Maynes said.
The van was towed back up to the road and removed by a tow truck.
Firefighters at the scene said no fuel spilled from the van.
Neither alcohol nor drugs were a factor in the wreck, Maynes said.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
