Icy road conditions are being blamed for an early-morning rollover collision on Beaverton Valley Road in which two OPALCO employees escaped with minor injuries.

According to authorities, the two men were westbound in an OPALCO pickup when the driver, identified as Kerry Anderson, hit a patch of ice and lost control of the vehicle while accelerating on a straightaway near the intersection of Beaverton Valley Road and Timber Lane shortly before 9 a.m.

The pickup veered into a ditch, careened for about 30 feet along the embankment, and then rolled on its side as it came to a stop with its front end partially in the road.

Sheriff Bill Cumming said Anderson was treated at the scene and released. His passenger, identified as Robert Belcher, suffered minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to the medical center in Friday Harbor for observation.

Cumming said both men were wearing seat belts and credits their decision to buckle up for helping to avoid what could have been an accident with much more serious consequences.

“Seat belts, seat belts, seat belts,” Cumming said.

A two-mile stretch of Beaverton Valley Road was closed for about an hour as paramedics and public safety personnel treated the two men and the heavily-damaged pickup was towed from the scene.