PORT ANGELES — Concrete barriers down the middle of U.S. Highway 101’s “S” curve east of Port Angeles might have prevented a crash last week that claimed the lives of three local men.
Clallam County Sheriff Joe Martin and North Olympic Peninsula state legislators said Friday that discussions are under way to look into the possibility of installing the median barriers to separate the four-lane highway.
But state Department of Transportation officials have said the road is too narrow and there’s no money to make it wide enough to fit in the barriers.
Ian Clayton Rolley, 45; his son, Jeremy Clayton Rolley, 21; and Jeremy’s best friend, Jonathan Jeffrey “J.J.” Brewer, 21, were declared dead at the scene after a station wagon crossed the centerline west of Deer Park Cinema and struck the front corner of the 1974 Ford pickup driven by Ian Rolley.
The pickup then went into oncoming eastbound traffic and was struck by a larger truck.
A Port Angeles man who was driving the station wagon has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide, but no charges have been filed.
Rumble strips on road
Currently, rumble strips run down the centerline of the highway. The strips are designed to alert drivers if they are crossing into oncoming traffic.
But the vehicle that caused the accident last week only crossed the line about 12 inches, State Patrol officials said.
Martin said the incident has prompted renewed interest in using concrete partitions to make that stretch of Highway 101 safer.
“It’s not a done deal, but we’re looking at it,” Martin said.
“The pot has been stirred.”