PORT ANGELES — A 17-year-old motorist died early Sunday when her car left U.S. Highway 101, skidded into a billboard support, snapped in two and burst into flames.
Dead at the scene was Hayley Haller of Port Angeles, the Washington State Patrol said later Sunday.
The crash occurred about 4:20 a.m. on the south side of the road between 3134 and 3142 E. Highway 101, just east of Mount Pleasant Road.
The 2001 Lexus sedan that Haller was driving left skid marks east from the center lane of the highway to the point of impact, a 12-by-6½-inch steel I-beam supporting the billboard.
The impact squashed the beam and knocked the catwalk from the billboard’s back side.
Half of the car remained beneath the billboard, setting it on fire.
The other half clipped the corner of The Paint Store, 3142 E. Highway 101, and came to rest about 40 feet from the billboard, charring a split-rail fence.