By Brian Gawley

Peninsula Daily News

JOYCE — Clallam Fire District 4 firefighters removed a truck from a tree at the intersection of state Highway 112 and Graul-Ramapo Road, two and a half miles east of Joyce.

“That was quite the interesting rescue,” said Greg Waters, fire chief of Clallam Fire District No. 4.

The district responded with five people along two engines, a command car and an aid car and was on the scene from 9:15 a.m. until 10:20 a.m. Wednesday.

Waters said the left side longitudinal frame of the truck went all the way through the tree so the truck was sticking out of both sides.

“It was so firmly implanted that they couldn’t pull it out. It was just shaking the tree. That’s when the Washington State Patrol called us for fire control and extraction,” he said.

The crash resulted in spilled diesel fuel, so firefighters were hesitant about using the big saw to cut the tree, Waters said.

So they sprayed down the area and continued spraying while they were cutting, he said.

The 1979 GMC truck was registered to Brandon Dachs, 45, Port Angeles, according to the State Patrol.

He admitted to being the driver after he was contacted at Olympic Medical Center, where was listed in satisfactory condition earlier this week.

State Patrol Trooper Katherine Weatherwax said Dachs’ truck appeared to have come down Graul-Ramapo Road, gone airborne, and became lodged in a tree.

Dachs fled the scene and somehow got himself to OMC, Weatherwax said.

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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at brian.gawley@sound publishing.com.

Clallam Fire District 4 firefighters remove a truck from a tree on Wednesday.