PORT ANGELES — Clallam County sheriff’s deputies retrieved two submerged vehicles Wednesday in unrelated incidents at Clallam County boat launches.

“The deputies used some ingenuity to help the folks out,” Clallam County Undersheriff Ron Peregrin said.

A Port Angeles man was backing a Sea Doo personal watercraft on a trailer into Lake Sutherland at about 4:30 p.m. when he missed the brake pedal.

The Ford Ranger he was driving backed into the water and became mostly submerged.

Deputy Ken Oien assisted the man, who normally loads the watercraft into the back of the truck without using a trailer. They pulled the truck and trailer out of the water.

The amount of damage to the pickup was unknown.

Three hours later, a Lake Forest Park woman reported that her husband was trying to launch a 12-foot sailboat at Paradise Cove on Sequim Bay.

The man hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, and the 1996 Saab 900 he was driving became completely submerged. The driver escaped without injury.

Deputies Ralph Edgington and Brian Knutson used a small dinghy to attach a cable from a tow truck to the boat and the car, and pulled them out of the water.

The car was likely a total loss because of the submersion in salt water, according to

The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said that the car probably was totally destroyed because of its submersion in salt water.

________

Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.