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DOTY — A dramatic one-vehicle accident claimed a woman’s life Monday in remote northeastern Pacific County, according to details released Friday by the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office.While on a Veteran’s Day hunting trip in the steep terrain of the Willapa Hills north of Pe Ell near the Pacific-Lewis county line, James Lanphear, 70, drove his 2013 Ford F-150 pickup off the edge of a logging-road landing on Weyerhaeuser property.A female passenger, Mary Lanphear, 80, did not survive the accident and was later removed by officers of the Pacific County Sheriff's Office, Washington State Department of Natural Resource and Washington State Patrol.The Lanphears are from Eatonville.James Lanphear “had attempted to hit the brake, however hit the accelerator driving off the end of the landing. The vehicle appears to have rolled several times before striking a tree and coming to a stop. The distance the vehicle traveled after leaving the roadway was estimated to be in excess of 1,500 feet before it came to a stop,” the sheriff’s office said. The accident happened at 8:25 a.m. Authorities aren’t sure what visibility was like at the time.“We were able to find an old road in below the scene, which made the removal easier, [but it] was still difficult going,” Sheriff’s Lt. Jim Bergstrom said. “We did not get back to our vehicles until 3:15 p.m. In 30 years of law enforcement I had not seen a vehicle travel this far down a ravine. I am surprised the driver lived through the accident.”The initial accident report suggested the wreck was in Lewis County, but once arriving at the scene the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office found it was in Pacific County and notified local authorities. According to an initial report in the Centralia Chronicle, another couple hunting with the pair had to drive to a location with cell phone reception to call for help.“I believe the initial responders had to trek down the ravine, they had already removed the survivor prior to our first officer was on the scene,” Bergstrom said.Raymond aid and Lewis County volunteer Fire/Aid responded to the scene. Lanphear had to be extricated from the vehicle. He was life-flighted from the scene and transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He is recovering from the incident in a hospital and is expected to survive.The vehicle was determined to be a total loss.
