Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated at 10:12 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Two people were hospitalized after a car and big rig tangled on U.S. Highway 12 just east of Mayfield Lake yesterday afternoon leaving the roadway blocked for several hours.

Troopers called at 4 p.m. to the scene reported both vehicles were eastbound and when the car slowed for a left hand turn, a 2004 Peterbilt hauling two trailer tried to swerve around it.

The truck struck the right rear corner of the car, went into the ditch and rolled onto its side spilling the lumber it was hauling, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Both vehicles were totaled.

The driver of a 1996 Mercury Mystique, Kenneth Rittgarn, 69, of Randle, was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, as was one of his two passengers, Jessica M. Parker, 59, of Glenoma, according to the state patrol.

The truck driver, Johnny L. Persinger, 46, of Prosser, was reportedly uninjured.

The highway was closed with a detour in place until about 7 p.m., according to the state Department of Transportation.

A second passenger in the car declined treatment. The collision was blamed on the truck driver’s inattention.

CORRECTION: This news items has been updated to correctly reflect which man was driving which vehicle. The state patrol initially incorrectly identified Rittgarn as the the truck driver and reported Persinger was behind the wheel of the car.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Longtime Centralia College Criminal Justice Program instructor Greg Gilbertson is scheduled to share a synopsis of his experiences during 25 months as an international police trainer in Iraq and Afghanistan tomorrow as part of the college’s Lyceum Series.

Professor Gilbertson worked writing curriculum for the Baghdad Police College and served as deputy director of the United Kingdom’s Basrah Training College in 2005 and 2006 then later served as a senior mentor and NATO liaison to the Afghan National Police Academy, according to Centralia College.

The lecture is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 1:50 p.m. at Centralia College.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Two passenger vehicles were totaled and a 54-year-old woman hospitalized after a 16-year-old driver pulled into traffic on U.S. Highway 12 at Anderson Road this morning.

Aid and troopers were called at 8 a.m. to the scene near the Thurston-Grays Harbor County line.

Jung A. Blake was eastbound on the highway in her SUV before it was struck by a Dylan Gleason-Wheeler, 16, according to the Washington State Patrol. Both are from Oakville.

Gleason-Wheeler was leaving a stop sign to turn west and pulled in front of her, according to the state patrol.

Blake was transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital with unspecified injuries. She was treated and has been released. The teen was reportedly unhurt.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 41-year-old Chehalis man was uninjured after he drove his car off an 800-foot embankment overnight off Brooklyn Road several miles west of Oakville.

It wasn’t clear to responders if the man was out of the vehicle before it landed at the bottom of the canyon.

Aid and deputies were called about 5:40 a.m. to the scene, on the 400 block of Brooklyn Road, including firefighters from Oakville and Centralia’s Riverside Fire Authority.

“There was a concern initially if his girlfriend was in the vehicle, he wasn’t quite sure,” Grays Harbor  County Sheriff’s Department Chief Criminal Deputy Steve Shumate said this morning. It turned out she was elsewhere.

“It does appear alcohol was a factor,” he said.

The roadway runs between Garrard Creek Road and the town of Brooklyn in Pacific County.

Grays Harbor County Fire District 1 Chief Buck Graham said the man had walked about three miles to the nearest house to get help.

“The story we finally ended up getting, we think it occurred around midnight,” Graham said. “We think he got out before it went to the bottom, that he bailed. We’re not really sure.”

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 14-year-old Portland girl who was allegedly driving drunk wrecked a van on Interstate 5 south of Chehalis early yesterday.

Aid and troopers called just after 3:30 a.m. to the scene near the U.S. Highway 12 and Avery Road interchange said three occupants of the vehicle were injured.

The registered owner, a 51-year-old Portland man, was a passenger in the 2006 Dodge Caravan, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The state patrol doesn’t know why an unlicensed teenager was driving with the adult in the van.

The vehicle was northbound, traveled off the roadway to the right and landed on it top, according to the state patrol.

The 14-year-old, Paris Roach, and a 16-year-old passenger, Kaliea Miller, both from Portland, were taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with bumps, bruises and scrapes, state patrol spokesperson Trooper Will Finn said.

Miller is a runaway, according to Finn.

The owner of the van, Stephan Hardy, 51, of Portland, suffered a laceration to his forehead but declined aid, according to the state patrol.

Finn said Hardy was dropped off at a nearby exit at a service station or a restaurant where he could get services or call for a ride.

Finn  said they do know the girls and the man are not family to each other. The situation is still under investigation, Finn  said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Lewis County Coroner’s Office has made a tentative identification of the woman whose body was found  below a lookout in the southern part of Mount Rainier National Park and is in touch with that woman’s family.

Coroner Warren McLeod said he’s determined the cause and manner of death but won’t reveal it until he knows for sure who the woman is.

“The extensive injuries are making it difficult,” McLeod said today.

Park officials located the body on Monday at the base of a cliff below Ricksecker Point, a dramatic lookout between Longmire and Paradise. Rangers had been investigating a vehicle parked for several days at the lookout and found identification which they linked to a missing person report.

The injuries are consistent with a fall from a great height, according to park spokesperson Patti Wold.

McLeod said he is hoping to use dental records or finger prints to make a positive identification by the end of the week.

The death is being investigated by park service law enforcement.

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For background, read “News brief: Body found at base of cliff near Longmire” from Tuesday September 25, 2012 at 5:27 p.m., here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Favorable weather has helped slow the forest fire south of Packwood which has remained at about 90 acres since Saturday, officials reported this morning.

Courtesy photo by Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Cowlitz Valley Ranger District fire personnel continue to monitor the situation, with reconnaissance flights as conditions allow, according to Gifford Pinchot National Forest spokesperson Ken Sandusky.

It’s been burning on a ridge called South Point about 10 miles south of U.S. Highway 12 for an unknown length of time, probably sparked by lightning earlier this month, officials have said.

Ranger and fire staff will be on hand tomorrow evening to answer questions from area residents about the fire. The public meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Packwood Fire Hall at 12953 U.S. Highway 12.

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For For background, read “South Point timber fire in Gifford Pinchot growing” from Friday September 21, 2012 at 11:09 a.m., here