CHIMACUM — A Chimacum-area man died when his all-terrain vehicle crashed into a barbed-wire fence Saturday near Eaglemount Road.
Lt. Jason McDonald of Jefferson County Fire District No. 1 declined to name the 45-year-old man until his family had been notified.
“It is unclear at this point what exactly happened,” McDonald said.
“We are not sure if he crashed into the fence, became tangled, and was injured that way, or if he became tangled in the fence and then crashed.”
The man was ejected from the vehicle and suffered “significant traumatic injuries,” McDonald said.
The man, who lived near the area where he was riding, was riding with a group of friends, who went for help.
“He was out ahead of his group, so when he crashed, and they came upon him, they went on ahead and called for help from there,” McDonald said.
“It looks like they were on their way back home for the day.”
The first call went into the dispatch center at 4:27 p.m., and the first paramedic unit arrived at 4:33 p.m., McDonald said.
“They began CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation] but it was not successful,” he said.
“They also gave him the medications to try and revive him.”
McDonald said that the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office will investigate the specifics.
No information was available from the sheriff’s office on Saturday.
Personnel with the fire district, the district’s paramedics, an off-duty paramedic who happened upon the scene and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office arrived to help.
McDonald said it did not appear that the man was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
It was the second high-profile ATV crash in Jefferson County in as many weeks.
On March 29, William Price, 29, of Port Orchard and Samantha Neet, 16, of Chimacum, collided when they met on a blind curve on a trail near Lake Tarboo.
Both were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center. Neet was treated and discharged the following day, while Price remained in the hospital.
Both were wearing helmets.