Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 7-year-old boy struck by a passenger car next to the Centralia fire station yesterday afternoon was described as in serious but stable condition.

Firefighters responding at 3:20 p.m. found the child standing on the sidewalk along Center Street, off North Pearl Street, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

The Centralia resident was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital with traumatic injuries, according to the fire department. The police department summarized the little boy’s injury as a slightly bloody nose and minor.

About 10 minutes later at the other end of downtown, a deputy’s patrol car was T-boned, sending the deputy to the hospital to be checked for possible back injuries.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports the 17-year-old Tenino boy whose Ford Ranger hit the Ford Crown Victoria was uninjured.

That happened at the intersection of South Pearl and Cherry streets, according to the sheriff’s office.

A post made on the sheriff’s office Facebook page states the patrol car’s damage was major requiring it to be towed and said the Ranger’s damage was minor.

The deputy was traveling eastbound on Cherry and the teen south on Pearl, with the impact occurring at the driver’s side door and front quarter panel, according to the sheriff’s office.

The collision is being investigated by the Washington State Patrol, but the sheriff’s office expects a citation will be issued to the teen driver.

Earlier in the day in the same area, officers were summoned to a report of a bicyclist versus vehicle collision.

Police say the bicyclist took off and when he was found a short time later, he was unhurt but they discovered he had a warrant for his arrest. Brian M. Williams, 27, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Responders were called for a cardiac arrest involving a motorist whose car came to rest along the center barrier on Interstate 5 in Napavine yesterday evening.

Troopers called at 7:53 p.m. determined the 2009 Chevrolet Aveo entered the northbound lanes at Rush Road, and crossed two lanes of traffic, continuing down along the concrete barrier until it came to a stop, according to the Washington State Patrol.

No other vehicles were hit.

The state patrol indicated the 68-year-old man from Enumclaw died from a possible medical event. Newaukum Valley Fire and Rescue described the call as for a cardiac arrest.

Kenneth W. Smith’s next-of-kin was notified and his car impounded, according to the state patrol.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 44-year-old Kelso man is facing possible theft charges after allegedly stealing as much as $30,000 worth of truck equipment and classic car parts belonging to his Toledo-area employer and selling some of them on the eBay auction site.

An investigation began last month, the day after the suspect and another employee were fired when some missing parts were found in one of their vehicles, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The business on the 100 block of Mulford Road primarily rebuilds semi trucks, according to sheriff’s Cmdr. Dusty Breen.

The sheriff’s office special enforcement team was assigned the case last week and on Saturday contacted the suspect in the Kelso area, Breen said. Most of the missing property was recovered, he said.

Deputies believe the thefts began in April and at this point, the second employee doesn’t appear to be involved, according to Breen.

The case is being forwarded to prosecutors for possible charges of first-degree theft and trafficking in stolen property, Breen said.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 36-year-old motorist is jailed after he allegedly tried to fight multiple individuals at the scene of a serious two vehicle collision on Interstate 5 south of Chehalis yesterday morning.

Casey M. Specht, 36, from Puyallup, was behind the wheel of a 2012 Chrysler 300 that rear-ended Ford F350 pickup, knocking the truck off the shoulder and into a tree, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Both vehicles were totaled. The freeway was closed so a LifeFlight helicopter could pickup the most seriously injured patient, according to the state patrol.

It happened about 7:10 a.m. in the southbound lanes near the exit 68 interchange.

Trooper Brian Ashley said even a semi truck driver and other passerby’s who stopped to help were threatened. Specht reportedly assaulted a trooper and was Tased so he could be taken into custody, according to Ashley.

They believe alcohol was involved, and the cause was speeding, according to the state patrol

Specht, who was reportedly uninjured, was arrested for third-degree assault, fourth-degree assault and three counts of vehicular assault.

Ashley said one of the victims appeared to have a major back injury and another a broken arm.

One of the two truck passengers, William A. Boley, 27, from Elma, was flown to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, in Vancouver.

The other passenger, Jason McMeekin, 30, from Elma, and the driver, Jaymee J. McMeekin, 60, of Aberdeen, were both transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to the investigating trooper.

The two vehicles were impounded and Specht was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Coroner’s Office has completed its investigation into the death of the 33-year-old Centralia woman whose body was found in the Cowlitz River in October and confirmed she drowned, but they don’t know why.

Elizabeth A. Pham

Coroner Warren McLeod is listing the manner of death for Elizabeth Pham as undetermined, he said today.

The married mother of three had been missing for 17 days when a pair of fisherman found her about two miles downriver from where she had last been seen.

She was last seen sitting beneath the overpass at exit 59 staring into the Cowlitz River on Oct. 10, and described as behaving unusual and confused by at least one person who saw her that day. Her car was discovered nearby on the freeway, unlocked with the keys in it.

Her makeup bag was turned into police the next day, having been discovered by a fisherman near the fork in the Cowlitz and Toutle Rivers.

McLeod said: “We just don’t know; no one saw her go into the water.”

A spokesperson for the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said today their case is not yet closed, but there were no signs of foul play.

The sheriff’s office has said Pham may have been suffering from from postpartum depression following the birth of her third child.
•••

For background, read “News brief: Coroner confirms body is missing mom” from Thursday October 29, 2015, here

Centralia’s North Tower Avenue is closed as firefighters extinguish a residential structure fire. / Courtesy photo by David Haladay

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The cause of a fire that heavily damaged a vacant Centralia house yesterday afternoon is under investigation.

Nobody was hurt but the 900 block of North Tower Avenue was closed for an extended time due to fire fighting operations, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

Crews responding to the 2:10 p.m. call found heavy flames from the back of the single-story home, according to the fire department.

Members of the Chehalis Fire Department assisted, to stop the fire from spreading to neighboring residences.

The Chehalis Fire Department’s new Jaws of Life are like these pictured.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Chehalis Fire Department has received a set of Jaws of Life tools from a fire department in San Matteo County.

Fire Chief Ken Cardinale said he got a call a couple of weeks ago, offering the equipment. He picked them up in California and delivered them to his fire station on Thanksgiving.

Cardinale said the donation saved the city about $65,000.

Cardinale spent 29 years with the Palo Alto Fire Department before coming to work in Chehalis in May. He reached out to some of his counterparts in California after taking the new job, he said.

“I had sent out emails and said, we have limited budgets,” he said. “(And said) if you have any useable equipment, let me know.”

A new set of Jaws – the hydraulic tools to help extricate patients from wrecked vehicles – can run as much as $100,000, he said.

The Chehalis Fire Department has one set and now they have a backup set, Cardinale said.

Once they get their new fire engine in June, which they plan to station at the Chehalis Airport, they can keep a set on that truck, he said.