Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

An STP bicyclist was seriously injured when he was run over by a hay truck in Centralia yesterday.

Aid and police were called about 2:20 p.m. to the intersection of North Pearl Street and Reynolds Avenue.

Southbound bicyclists and other traffic were stopped at a light and when the light turned green the man’s bike wobbled and he fell into the path of the truck, Centralia Police Department Sgt. Carl Buster said.

The rear dual wheels of the flatbed truck drove over his upper body, Buster said.

“I’m thinking his foot got stuck in the pedal or something,” Buster said.

Firefighters took him to Providence Centralia Hospital with chest, neck and head injuries, according to Riverside Fire Authority acting Capt. Rick LeBoeuf.

Thousands of bicyclists are taking part this weekend in the 200-mile ride, the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic.

The bicyclist, Donald Becker, 58, of Vancouver, Wash. was flown by helicopter to Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver, according to Buster.

Police were told this morning he is still in the intensive care unit, with broken shoulders and an injury to his lung, but his head is okay, Buster said.

The woman driving the truck was not ticketed, Buster said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office announced this afternoon that its internal investigation confirmed Deputy Matt McKnight acted within the law and did not deviate from office policy, procedure and training when he fatally shot a 33-year-old man in Napavine the week before last.

Deputies were assisting Napavine police with a dispute early on June 20 when McKnight was confronted by a volatile suspect; the result was McKnight shot Steven V. Petersen who died at the scene, the sheriff’s office said today in a news release.

A team of officers from outside sheriff’s offices conducted the shooting investigation. Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer’s review of their findings concluded last week the deputy’s use of deadly force was justified.

Sheriff’s Steve Mansfield’s office conducted an  internal investigation that included a “shooting review board”.

McKnight is cleared to return to normal patrol duties next week, according to the sheriff’s office. The 27-year-old  has worked with the sheriff’s office a little more than four years.

Sheriff Mansfield said in the news release it’s an unfortunate reality that law enforcement must at times resort to the use of deadly force to protect themselves and others during volatile situations.

“This incident, while tragic for so many reasons, drives home the reality of the dangers of this profession and the importance of how we conduct ourselves and what we do each and every day to achieve our mission and protect those we serve,” Mansfield stated.

It was about 2 a.m. after a man had apparently stabbed the front door of a home on West Washington Street when McKnight confronted Petersen several blocks away.

Meyer wrote in his findings that Petersen wouldn’t take his hand out of pocket, ignored verbal commands and began to advance on the deputy when the deputy fired four shots. No knife was found in the pocket or anywhere else, according to Meyer.

Petersen died of a gunshot wound to the head.
•••

Read background here

This news story was updated at 5:30 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A plea deal has been reached with one of the two men charged in last summer’s triple slaying near Salkum.

Ryan J. McCarthy, 29, is scheduled to plead guilty next week in Lewis County Superior Court.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said today he would not discuss what McCarthy plans to plead to, or what if anything either side offered in exchange.

He is set to go before a judge on Thursday.

The Redmond man and former Onalaska resident John A. Booth Jr. were arrested after four people were found shot – three fatally – inside a home off Gore Road near Salkum last August.

The dead are David West Sr. 52, his son David West Jr., 16, and a friend Tony E. Williams, 50, of Randle. West Sr.’s live-in girlfriend, Denise Salts, 52, survived a gunshot wound to her face.

McCarthy’s lawyer couldn’t be reached immediately for comment this afternoon.

Attorneys brokered a plea deal last week, and yesterday set a date with the judge, but it won’t be final until McCarthy “signs on the dotted line,” Meagher said.

He did say he and Olympia defense attorney Rick Cordes have agreed upon the amount of time they will recommend to the judge that McCarthy serve.

McCarthy was charged with murder as well as attempted extortion. His trial was set for October.

Booth, 32, is scheduled to go to  trial on Nov. 7.

He is charged with attempted murder of Salts, second-degree murder of West Sr., first degree murder of David Jr. and Williams, attempted extortion and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The two men are former cell mates. Authorities have said they believe the two men’s Aug. 21 visit to the house was related to a drug debt collection.

Booth’s lawyer, Roger Hunko, said this afternoon he had no reaction to offer about the news.

“I don’t think it means much one way or the other to John,” Hunko said. “Mr. McCarthy is going to have to do what he needs to do.”

•••

Read background on the case:

• “West Sr. pointed shotgun telling pair of ex-cons to leave his house, triggering triple homicide, unsealed court documents allege” from Saturday Sept. 4, 2010, here

• “Unsealed document: More details on Salkum slayings” from Monday Sept. 6, 2010, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Fire destroyed an Adna area home this afternoon.

Lewis County Fire District 6 was called about 12:50 p.m. to the 100 block of Sunset Drive, off Brockway Road, according to Firefighter-paramedic Tim Kinder.

The single-story house was fully involved in flames when they arrived and fought “pretty much defensively,” Kinder said.

District 6 was joined by members of fire departments from Chehalis, Centralia and Napavine.

Nobody was home, although some pets perished, Kinder said.

Kinder believed two cats and a dog were rescued.

Fire Capt. Ted McCarty of Chehalis Fire Department said two kittens were saved, and seemed to be doing fine.

“They kinda reached in and found them in the foam and rubble, about an hour into it,” McCarty said.

Kinder described the house as gutted. It had been burning for quite awhile before firefighters arrived, he said.

The cause is under investigation.

Michael L. Hart was ejected from the passenger side window of his truck when it rolled near Tenino. / Courtesy photo by Washington State Patrol

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 28-year-old Tenino man was in critical condition last night after he rolled his pickup truck south of Tenino, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Troopers called about 9:40 p.m. to Skookumchuck Road Southeast near Northcraft Road Southeast found Michael L. Hart had been ejected from the passenger side window of his vehicle. He was not wearing a seatbelt, according to Trooper Ma Kayla Morgan.

Hart was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to the state patrol.

Morgan reports Hart was headed west when his truck left the right shoulder; he overcorrected sending the vehicle sideways across the eastbound lane and rolling over.

His 1985 GMC pickup as described as totaled.

Morgan reports alcohol is believed to be a contributing factor and notes the injuries could have been prevented if the motorist had been wearing a seatbelt.

Lewis County Fire District 3 Chief Matt Hadaller. / Courtesy photo by Taryn Houghtelling

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A procession of fire trucks and law enforcement vehicles will travel east on U.S. Highway 12 tomorrow to the Mossyrock High School football stadium to attend the memorial service for Matthew M. Hadaller III, the fire chief who died unexpectedly on Monday night.

Hadaller, 47, was a member of his community’s fire department for 20 years, and spent the last seven and half years as chief.

He was at home late Monday night when he suffered what the coroner called a major cardiac event, caused by what is sometimes called arteriosclerosis, a narrowing of the arteries.

The technical term is arteriosclerotic coronary artery disease, according to Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod.

“My impression is he didn’t know he had it,” McLeod said today.

Volunteer members of his Lewis County Fire District 3 took him by ambulance to Morton General Hospital, but he suffered a cardiac arrest on the way and couldn’t be revived, Lewis County Fire District 13’s Chief Gregg Peterson said earlier this week.

The memorial service is set for 1 p.m.

The procession is set to depart about 12:15 p.m. from Avery Road at Highway 603. Motorists should expect delays in the area along Avery Road and U.S. Highway 12 until about 1 p.m., according to the area fire chiefs who are organizing the events.

The chiefs note that anyone wishing to make a donation to Hadaller’s family can do so at any branch of Twin Star Credit Union, mentioning the Chief Hadaller Fund.