Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Two senior citizens were tricked out of a large sum of money in Thurston County by someone impersonating a police officer phoning to say their grandchild was in jail.

In both cases, the male caller identified himself with a name and rank and told the targets to go to Safeway and purchase a $3,000 Reloadit Gift Card, and then call a phone number to provide the numbers from the gift card, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

One of the victims lost all $3,000 and the other told the person she could not afford that much so they settled on $500, so she lost that, sheriff’s Lt. Cliff Ziesemer said.

The incidents both occurred during November, according to Ziesemer.

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office would like the public to be aware of this phone scam.

“As a general rule, if someone is calling you requesting or demanding money and you do not know who they are, assume that it is a scam and hang up,” Ziesemer said. “You also should never provide personal information to anyone over the phone to anyone who calls you.”

In these incidents, the first caller identified himself as “Sgt. Hunter” but did not indicate which department he was from. The other caller said he was “Capt. Craig Perry” from “Bend Police Dept.”

Anyone who receives phone calls that are requesting money or personal information are asked to please call their local police department or sheriff’s office and file a report.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Troopers are preparing for holiday emphasis patrols, targeting impaired drivers.

The Washington State Patrol wants to remind everyone to plan ahead and not drink, or use marijuana or other drugs and then drive.

Just last week, a brand new Chehalis-area trooper made his a DUI arrest on his very first traffic stop on his first day on the job.

Trooper Jeff Wallace was participating in orientation, to familiarize himself with his newly assigned beat in Chehalis on Tuesday, according to the Washington State Patrol.

While driving through  the city of Toledo, Trooper Wallace observed the vehicle in front him driving on the shoulder and repeatedly crossing the center line. He activated his emergency lights, stopped and contacted the driver. After conducting a field interview and field sobriety tests Wallace arrested the driver on suspicion of DUI.

Trooper Wallace is from Vancouver, Washington. He graduated from the 105th Trooper Basic Class on November 19, 2015.

The state patrol offers the following advice to the motoring public:

• Call 911 if you suspect a driver is DUI.
• Plan ahead and have a designated sober driver to get you around.
• Call a taxi or use some other public transportation resource.
• If you are hosting a party, plan ahead. Make sure your guests have a designated driver or allow them to stay with you.

Two of the four vehicles from the third crash of the morning. / Courtesy photo by Byron Peck

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A wreck that began with a 74-year-old driver of a pickup losing control on an icy U.S. Highway 12 near Mossyrock this morning led to a 21-year-old Toledo man’s Ford F350 hitting the pickup that came into his lane, and then a Camry in the opposite lane before he stopped in the center of the highway and was struck by a fourth vehicle.

Riley B. Overby, 21, of Toledo, was uninjured, but his 1996 Ford Ford F350 was totaled, as were the other three vehicles, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Hazel F. Waldo, 74, from Castle Rock, the driver of the first pickup truck was also unhurt, but cited for speed too fast for conditions.

The 83-year-old driver of the Toyota Camry, Phoebe Young, from Richland, was the only person injured in the approximately 10:40 a.m. multiple vehicle collision, according to the state patrol. She was transported to Morton General Hospital.

It happened just west of Mossyrock, near milepost 84.

It was the third wreck of the morning in between Beach Road and Wilson Road, a particularly icy stretch, according to Lewis County Fire District 3.

“We had just cleared the scene from a previous accident in the same area, 15 or 20 minutes earlier,” Chief Doug Fosburg said.

That accident involved an off-the-roadway crash and when a second car stopped to help, a pickup truck sideswiped that car, he said.

Even earlier was a non-injury rollover wreck, he said.

“The sun just doesn’t hit that corner at all,” Fosburg said.

Fosburg said he was surprised the highway wasn’t de-iced after the first wreck, but the roadway was finally shut down until that could be done, he said.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Nobody was injured this morning when ice on the roadway started a multiple vehicle collision that wreaked havoc on both sides of Interstate 5 at Centralia.

A pickup truck entering northbound from Harrison Avenue hit a patch of ice, spun out and collided with the center barrier, according to the Washington State Patrol.

A northbound semi then hit the pickup and another car was struck by some of the displaced concrete barrier, Trooper Michael Johnson said.

The barrier was shoved into the oncoming lane, where a car-carrying truck hit it, he said.

Interstate 5 was blocked in both directions beginning at about 5:20 a.m.

Neither the pickup nor the car were drivable, and the semi was also towed because it had steering issue, Johnson said.

Still, nobody had to be transported to the hospital, according to Johnson.

The freeway wasn’t entirely opened up again until 8:15 a.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The mother of three who has pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for last year’s death of a 3-year-old boy she and her husband were caring for in Vader is expected to be sentenced tomorrow.

Brenda A. Wing

Brenda A. Wing, 27, has been held in the Lewis County Jail since deputies arrested her and her husband last autumn.

The toddler died from what the coroner labeled chronic battered child syndrome on Oct. 5 of last year.

Danny A. Wing, also 27, has already been sentenced to 34 years in prison for his role in the death of Jasper Henderling-Warner.

The case has dragged out in part because a plea deal required the Wings to undergo further interviews and polygraph examinations as prosecutors sought to learn more specifically what occurred. Brenda Wing’s sentencing hearing has been repeatedly postponed.

She is scheduled to go before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.
•••

For background, read, “Vader man gets 34 years for toddler death” from Friday September 25, 2015, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 22-year-old driver was hospitalized after crashing into a bank building this morning in Centralia.

Officers responding just before 4 a.m. to the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue found the vehicle broke the wall of Columbia Bank, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Police Sgt. Kurt Reichert said he understood the man was very, very overdosed on a combination of drugs and alcohol and needed continuing medical attention.

Cody D.A. Rojers, 22, of Graham, was cited for driving under the influence, according to police.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Applications are due on Friday for the Chehalis Police Officers’ Association’s annual Shop with a Cop program.

The event in which a limited number of children are selected to participate happens on Dec. 16.

Applications are available at the Chehalis Police Department at 350 N. Market Blvd. and also on its website, http://ci.chehalis.wa.us/police Those with questions can call 360-748-8605.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office is holding their annual event on Dec. 17. Their application deadline is next Tuesday.

The sheriff’s office partners with United Way of Lewis County to find children in need of a positive experience with law enforcement, as well as those in need of financial assistance.

Applications are available from the United Way website at www.lewiscountyuw.com, their office at 450 N.W. Pacific Avenue, in Chehalis, or by calling the United Way office at 748-8100. Applications are also available at the front counter of the sheriff’s office or on its Facebook page.