BY PEPPER FISHER
Port Angeles – There’s a tanker truck lying upside down in Indian Creek along Highway 101 just west of Port Angeles today after the driver went off the road and rolled down the embankment into the ravine.
Seemingly miraculously, the driver was able to crawl out of the cab on his own and was being evaluated by medics on the scene as of 11:00 Friday morning.
Trooper Katherine Weatherwax says he went off the road at about 10:20am, but at the time of our call, she didn’t know what caused the driver to leave the roadway, but she said he was hauling fuel at the time.
“He was hauling petroleum and the tanker is leaking. So yeah, the Department of Ecology is going to have to come out and assess the damage to that.”
US 101 is closed west of Port Angeles at milepost 238.7 near Herrick Road until further notice due to the crash. Travelers are being detoured around the closure using State Route 112. WSDOT officials said there is no estimated time for the highway to reopen.
Jessica Kulaas from the State Dept. of Ecology told us her agency had a crew on the way to the scene as of 1:00 Friday afternoon.
“We do have crew members in route, not there yet, but I do also know that contractors have been secured for cleanup but we don’t know quantity or anything like that yet.”
58-year-old Thomas Schaw of Port Angeles was charged with negligent driving after troopers said he failed to negotiate a right-hand turn, left the roadway, and tumbled down a 200-300 foot embankment.
Clallam County travelers will want to plan for additional travel time and check the WSDOT app or the real time Travel Center Map for the status of both US 101 and SR 112 throughout the day.
This is a developing story. KONP expects to have an update from the Department of Ecology later on Friday.