Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Troopers are trying out a new message hoping to curb celebrants from drinking and driving on St. Patricks Day, appealing to their pocketbooks instead of the risk of collision and injury.

A DUI conviction is expensive, according to the Washington State patrol.

They are calling it a $10,000 ride home.

“First time offenders can expect to pay an average cost of $10,000., Trooper Will Finn states. “By the time bail, fines, fees and insurance are paid; the costs could be more.”

And don’t forget about the time lost at work, along the toll your arrest could take on those important to you, Finn says.

It takes only minutes to make a responsible decision that could prevent a tragedy with life-lasting impacts, according to Finn.

He recommends:

• Plan ahead and designate a sober driver

• Call a taxi

• Call a sober friend to pick you up.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Lewis County Coroner’s Office says the cause of death for a man found in his vehicle parked at a convenience store near Adna last Thursday can’t be determined until the results come back from toxicology tests.

Aid and deputies called about 1:45 p.m. that day to state Route 6 and Highway 603 learned the car had been parked there since as early as 9 a.m.

The man, Daniel Richart, 52, is from Olympia, according to Coroner Warren McLeod.

An autopsy showed no signs of foul play or injury, according to McLeod.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

An 18-year-old Rochester girl is listed in critical condition this morning after she was struck by a sport utility vehicle yesterday evening in Centralia.

Police and aid responding about 6:15 p.m. to the area near the Interstate 5 interchange at Harrison Avenue learned Chelan N. Brasher had run across the southbound onramp when she was hit by a 16-year-old boy driving a 2000 Ford Excursion, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Tanner T. Fields, from Chehalis, had been westbound and had a green light when he turned onto the ramp, according to state patrol.

Brasher was not in a crosswalk, nor did she have a “walk” signal, according to the investigating trooper.

She was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital and then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where she is being treated in the intensive care unit.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 66-year-old vendor at a gun show was arrested on Saturday when he fired a rifle inside the crowded venue.

He said he must have bumped the trigger, but nobody was struck and nobody was hurt, according to police.

Police were called about 10:30 a.m. to the pavilion at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds on North National Avenue and found the round had skipped off concrete, gone through another vendor’s gun cases and landed in a large book, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

Officer Linda Bailey said it was a 308 Savage model 99.

Daniel B. MacGugan, 66, from Olympia, said after he purchased the weapon from someone who had brought it in, he removed the strap to look at the bore, and that’s when it happened, Bailey said.

Bailey said all firearms brought inside the building are checked by security and “strapped” with a zip tie to show they are unloaded and safe.

This gun was secured with a tie until MacGugan removed it, according to Bailey.

A police report didn’t indicate the person who sold the weapon, she said.

MacGugan was issued a criminal citation for reckless endangerment, a gross misdemeanor, she said.