Lewis County Sirens.com

The scene at the corner of state Route 508 and Central Avenue. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff’s Office

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Only one person was hurt when an 87-year-old motorist traveling on state Route 508 in Onalaska hit the gas pedal instead of the brakes, veered off the highway and struck a house yesterday.

The pregnant homeowner was resting on a couch and three children were playing in a front bedroom, all near where the 1996 Buick Roadmaster made contact with the structure, according to authorities.

Lewis County Fire District 1 Assistant Chief Rhonda Volk said the car’s front end struck a post, and spun the car 180 degrees, leaving it parallel with the front porch.

“The post maybe slowed him down, thankfully,” Volk said.

Deputies and aid were called just before 1 p.m. to the scene at the northwest corner of Central Avenue.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports the elderly man was westbound when a Ford Expedition in front of him slowed to make a turn.

“He went to apply the brakes but instead, applied pressure to the accelerator,” Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

His car sideswiped the Expedition, swiped the rear of a Volkswagen Jetta and broke a telephone pole in half before reaching the house, Brown said.

Neither he nor the three other occupants of the affected vehicles were injured, but his passenger, an 86-year-old woman, was transported to the hospital with rib pain, according to Volk.

Siding on the house was damaged as well as possibly framing and the foundation, according to the sherif’s office.

The man whose name was not released but is from Kirkland, was cited for wheels off the roadway, Brown said. His car was totaled.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A car came off a tow dolly on Interstate 5 this afternoon and flew over the center barrier striking the top of a car traveling in the opposite direction.

It happened just after 3 p.m. south of Chehalis, just south of the Labree Road interchange, according to authorities.

The passenger in the 2004 Honda CRV was injured and transported to Providence Centralia Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to the Washington State Patrol and the fire department.

Two others were treated at the scene and then released, Newaukum Valley Fire and Rescue Firefighter Brad Bozarth said.

The wreck is under investigation, according to the state patrol.

The initial information indicates the blue 2007 Honda Civic was on the tow dolly being pulled by a flatbed wrecker headed southbound, when the dolly came loose from the truck.

The Civic left the dolly and hit a southbound Subaru Legacy, driven by a Portland man who was uninjured, according to the state patrol.

The Civic continued across the barrier into the northbound lanes where it struck the CRV. Both Hondas were totaled.

The driver of the CRV, 62-year-old Marie Bolin of Camano Island, was unhurt, the investigating trooper reports. Her passenger Keli C. Bolin, 35, from Portland was hospitalized.

Further information about the driver of the towing truck was not readily available.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The sheriff’s office was summoned last night after a 23-year-old drove himself to the hospital with a bloody nose and reported he was attacked by two masked individuals dressed in black while he was running on a trail west of Chehalis.

The Chehalis resident who said he was new to the area told a deputy he went out for a run about 9 p.m. on the Rails to Trails and as he neared the ballfields behind Adna High School, he heard footsteps running up behind him, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

He said he was hit in the back of the head and when he turned, he was struck in the face several times, according to the sheriff’s office. He said the assailants then left and it didn’t seem to be an attempted robbery, according to Chief Deputy Stacy Brown.

Brown said the man drove himself to Providence Centralia Hospital where he was treated for pain, bruises and small lacerations on his face.

Deputies, called at 10:12 p.m., canvassed the area but were unable to locate any suspects, Brown said.

Updated at 3:08 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The 56-year-old driver who died when he wrecked his Jeep along the 2500 block of Centralia-Alpha Road yesterday morning had been talking on his cell phone with his sister, and was on his way to her house, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

“She heard the crash and then silence and sent her husband to go look for her brother,” Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning.

It happened about 12:15 a.m. yesterday in Onalaska.

Deputies arriving to the scene believe the 2005 Jeep Wrangler had been eastbound when it left the roadway, traveled through a ditch and hit a tree, according to the sheriff’s office.

The driver was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle, Brown said. Fire Chief Andrew Martin said the patient was deceased when responders arrived.

He is identified as Marvin Elliott, from Centralia.

The Jeep was totaled, Brown said. The sheriff’s office is investigating the crash.

Courtesy image National Weather Service

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A windstorm so strong is expected tomorrow that forecasters say widespread power outages and downed trees are likely.

Some damage to buildings is even possible as the strongest winds sweep through much of Western Washington late tomorrow afternoon into the early evening, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service reminds the public that falling trees and limbs can cause serious injury or death.

Southeast winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph are possible, with even stronger winds to follow, forecasters indicated today.

A winter storm warning for snow in the Cascade Mountains of Lewis and Pierce counties has been issued for the 24-hour period starting at noon tomorrow, with amounts that will make travel dangerous, according to the NWS.

Eight to 18 inches of snow will fall through tomorrow morning, with another 1 to 2-feet dropping through noon Monday.

The snow level will be around 4,000 feet today, then remain between 2,000 and 3,000 feet  through Monday.

The NWS advises that motorists only travel through the mountains if it is an emergency, and be sure to carry a flashlight, food and water just in case.

The wind warning issued today focuses on the areas surrounding Everett, Seattle, Bellevue, Bremerton, Tacoma, Hood Canal, the Southwest Interior and the Lower Chehalis Valley.

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Monitor “Weather Alerts, Forecasts” from the National Weather Service anytime with the link on the right hand column of this page beneath the heading “Other useful web links”

Updated at 11:30 a.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

An 82-year-old driver whose car collided head-on with a Kenworth septic truck yesterday afternoon near Morton was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Troopers called about 2:50 p.m. to the scene found the Honda Accord totaled.

It happened on state Route 7, three miles north of Morton, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The state patrol reports Janet A. Morgan, 82, from Eatonville, was headed northbound when her car crossed the center line. She was listed in serious condition this morning.

The driver of the truck, Matthew P. Calvert, 27, from Onalaska, reportedly was unhurt.

Both had been wearing their seat belts, according to the state patrol.

Earlier in the day also in East Lewis County, a Morton resident died and his passenger was flown to Harborview after a single-vehicle wreck on state Route 508. Lloyd L. Wakeman, 35, from Centralia, remains hospitalized, but his condition this morning was not available.

Updated at 6:06 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

One person is dead and another seriously injured following a single-vehicle crash on state Route 508 near Cinebar.

Firefighters called just after 10 o’clock this morning found a pickup truck in the ditch with significant front end damage, according to Lewis County Fire District 3 Chief Doug Fosburg.

“The driver was the fatality, the passenger was airlifted to Harborview,” Fosburg said.

Fosburg said it was about two miles east of Justus Road. The state Department of Transportation reported the collision was at milepost 20.9 near Studhalter Road.

The Washington State Patrol is investigating. The eastbound lane was blocked until almost 1:30 p.m.

The state patrol this afternoon reports that Daniel D. Steig, 73, of Morton, was headed eastbound when his Dodge Ram pickup drifted off the shoulder into the ditch and struck the embankment.

Steig was deceased at the scene. His passenger Lloyd L. Wakeman, 35, from Centralia, was injured.

Wakeman had been wearing a seatbelt, but Steig was not, according to the state patrol.