By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A Centralia man died at the scene of a fiery rollover crash in which both occupants were ejected yesterday afternoon in Federal Way.
Billy Powell Jr. 21, was a passenger in a Honda Accord that was northbound off the Interstate 5 ramp to state Route 18 when the driver for whatever reason lost control, according to the Washington State Patrol. The car rolled several times and caught fire, according to the state patrol.
It happened about 12:20 p.m. and the cause remains under investigation.
Trooper Clifford Pratt said the vehicle was on a straightaway and likely speeding, although not wildly over the speed limit .
“It will maybe have more to do with something that was going on inside the car,” Pratt said.
The equipment on the 1992 model Honda was in poor condition he said. “The tires were some of the baldest I’ve ever seen in a crash.”
Santana Sanchez, 27, of Shelton, was badly hurt with broken arms, deep cuts and probably hit her head pretty hard, Pratt said. She landed about 20 feet away and initially indicated she was alone in the vehicle, he said.
In the course of extinguishing the burning car, which came to rest in sticker bushes, they found the other person, about 10 feet away, according to Pratt. Responders tried to revive him, but were unsuccessful, he said.
Pratt said there was probably a five to eight minute delay that may or may not have made a difference.
Powell died from blunt force injury to his torso, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The trooper described Powell as currently homeless, with a last known address in Centralia, which is where his family lives.
Neither of the two were wearing their seat belts, according to the state patrol.
Sanchez was transported to St. Francis Hospital. It’s unknown if she had drugs or alcohol in her system, but investigators are looking at that, according to Pratt.
“It’s a bad situation all the way around,” he said.
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