PORT ANGELES — A car driven by a Santa Barbara, Calif., college student rolled over on an ice-slicked Little River Road after having been pulled out of ditches twice earlier in the day, according to Assistant Chief Mike DeRousie of Clallam County Fire District 2.
Firefighters found the 2013 Toyota Prius on its side, partially blocking a steep hill roadway about ¼ mile up Little River Road at 1:34 p.m. Sunday, DeRousie said in a news release.
The driver and passenger — both Santa Barbara college students — had climbed out of the car by the time firefighters arrived, he said. Neither were injured.
The fire department does not name people involved in wrecks because of privacy concerns.
Firefighters called a rental car company and drove the students there to make sure they could get back to Seattle, DeRousie said.
The students were on a road trip originating from Seattle and decided to drive to Port Angeles.
While driving up Mount Angeles Road, they turned onto Heart o’ the Hills Road which turns into Little River Road, DeRousie said.
“They didn’t realize the road conditions were so bad. A Good Samaritan pulled the students’ Prius out of the ditch twice prior to the rollover,” DeRousie said.
When they drove near to the end of Little River Road, they started down a steep hill where the roadway was covered with compact snow and ice and the Prius slide. The driver’s side wheel went into a ditch and the vehicle flipped over, hitting the embankment with the roof, then slid on its side down the road.
Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue responded with one medic unit and a command vehicle. Clallam County Sheriff also responded to the scene.
