PORT ANGELES — Friends and family of three Port Angeles men killed Wednesday in a vehicle collision on U.S. Highway 101 spent Thursday trying to process the loss.

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 of a crash that tied up traffic for hours Wednesday afternoon.

A Port Angeles man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and vehicular homicide in connection with the crash, but no charges have been filed.

Surviving previous crashes

Those who knew the three men said it was strange they would die in a car accident since all of them survived severe injuries from past car accidents.

Ian Rolley sustained a broken neck in the early 1990s when he was struck by a car while on a bicycle ride.

Jeremy Rolley was in a coma and lost the use of his right arm after a car collision in the late 1990s.

Brewer received extensive injuries to his legs and pelvis after being thrown from a car in 2002.

“It’s just so sad that they made good recoveries and to then be wiped out,” said Len Rolley of Olympia, Ian’s brother and Jeremy’s uncle.

It was Brewer’s injuries from his car accident that brought him and Jeremy Rolley together, said Kelsi Brewer of Quilcene. She is J.J.’s cousin.

“That’s why they called themselves soldiers,” she said.

“They went through hard times, good times, bad times, but they always seemed to pull through and make a little bit of trouble.”