PORT ANGELES — Celebrations of life are scheduled this week for two tribal members from Port Angeles who were killed on Interstate 5 in Northern California on May 12.
Clayton Lloyd Charles, 35, and Crystal Leann Grall, 33, died when the 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe they were riding in flipped and rolled just south of Maxwell, Calif., the California Highway Patrol said.
The driver, Edward Kenneth Perez, 31, was taken to a Chico, Calif. hospital with moderate injuries. He was discharged from Enloe Medical Center on May 13, a hospital spokesperson said.
A celebration of Grall’s life is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Lower Elwha Klallam tribal center. She was a member of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.
A celebration of Charles’s life will be held at 10 a.m. June 1 at the Lower Elwha Klallam tribal center gymnasium, 2851 Lower Elwha Road.
He was a member of the Skagit Tribe, according to information provided by his family.
Drennan and Ford Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
Efforts to reach the mothers of the victims Friday were unsuccessful.
The California Highway Patrol said the wreck occurred at about 11:50 p.m. last Sunday north of Lurline Avenue in Colusa County, Calif., about 65 miles north of Sacramento.
Perez was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, investigators said.
Charles and Grall were not wearing seat belts and were ejected from the vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
“The lack of use of restraints played a significant role in the fatal outcome of this collisions,” CHP said in a press release.
“Drugs and/or alcohol are believed to be a factor in this collision. This is an ongoing collision investigation.
“CHP reminds everyone of the importance of utilizing seat belt safety restraints while traveling in a motor vehicle.”
The first officer on scene said the Tahoe came to a rest on its top facing northwest in a southbound lane.
Perez was driving at a “high rate of speed” before the crash, CHP said.
Perez “allowed the Chevrolet to travel to the right onto the right shoulder, steered the Chevrolet to the left across both lanes of traffic and then back to the right causing the Chevrolet to overturn multiple times,” CHP said in a press release.
Perez was placed under arrest before he was taken to Enloe Medical Center with moderate injuries, CHP said.
He was not in custody in Colusa County on Friday, a jail spokesman said.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at [email protected].
