Forks mourns the deaths of three young people Two others remain hospitalized following car crash

September 23, 2021 1:30 am
One of several ambulances which were active at the Forks Hospital early Saturday morning with victims of an accident that took place around 4 a.m. this morning on the Sitkum-Sol Duc Road also known as the "A" Road. Photo by Lonnie Archibald

The Forks community is mourning the loss of three young people in an early morning Saturday wreck.

The lives of those lost have been identified as Jaden C. Lohrengel, Tyler J. Ellis, both 18; and Shaiyann A. Cummins, 17.

Two others, Ariel Morales Sandoval, 19, and Gyovanna Morales, 19, remain at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle — the former, a male, in critical condition, and the latter, a female, improved from critical to satisfactory condition, according to a hospital spokesperson on Sunday.

A candlelight vigil was held Sunday night at Duncan Field to grieve for the three teens and to pray for the other two.

The Forks Assembly of God had offered a drive-in service on Sunday morning and on Saturday opened at noon for anyone who wanted to come in person to talk.

The five young people were in a car that hit a tree on Sitkum-Solduc Road — known locally as A Road — outside of Forks early Saturday morning, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said.

Lohrengel, the driver, and Ellis, who was in the front passenger seat, were declared dead at the scene, while Cummins died of her injuries at Haborview, according to authorities.

The single-vehicle collision was at 4:19 a.m. on Mile 5 of the road, said Sgt. John Hollis of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.

A preliminary report said the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree.

Alcohol and vehicle speed are suspected to be factors in the collision, Hollis said.

Both Ellis and Lohrengel had just graduated from Forks high school.

At graduation, FHS had shared information on all graduates regarding future plans as well as scholarships received.

Ellis had planned a job in the timber industry. The Forks High School football player had spent the summer working on a fishing boat in Alaska.

Lohrengel was planning to enter the Northwest Lineman College in Meridian Idaho in October. He had earned a variety of scholarships: Quillayute Valley Scholarship Auction; Fred Orr Scholarship, $700; Albert Haller Foundation, $8,000; Elks Vocational Scholarship, $3,000; Forks Elks Scholarship, $500; Hull Family Scholarship, $1,000; Charlotte Kirby Scholarship, $1,000.

As of Monday the case remained under investigation by the Clallam County Sheriff’s traffic investigation unit.