George Benton, pictured with his wife Gerry, kept lots of copies of the local Senior Dynamics magazine after he was featured in it 10 years ago. Former co-worker Barbara Lovelady said he hadn’t aged since this photo was taken.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The 94-year-old man hit by a car as he crossed a Chehalis street in his power wheelchair on Monday evening died yesterday after returning home from the hospital.
Chehalis police have reopened the accident investigation.
George Benton, a retired Chehalis firefighter, lived in an adult family home about a block from where he was struck. It happened about 5 p.m. Monday in a crosswalk on the 1100 block of South Market Boulevard, in front of Safeway.
Benton still owned his own house above the southeast corner of the grocery store parking lot.
“Almost every day he’d get on his scooter and drive up the hill to work in his yard or putter in his shop,” said Leah Jensen, operator of Leah’s Adult Family Home.
Chehalis police on Tuesday described the accident as one that resulted in minor injuries. Sgt. Brian Hickey said Benton was in a crosswalk but it was dark and the driver didn’t see him.
Chehalis Deputy Police Chief Randy Kaut said today the driver was a 53-year-old Onalaska woman behind the wheel of a 1990s Buick passenger car.
It wasn’t clear today if a decision had been made to not ticket the driver, or if the collision investigation just wasn’t quite finished, according to Kaut. There were a lot of witnesses to interview, Kaut said.
Police don’t yet know the reason for the death, he said.
“We’ve reopened the accident and we’re going to take a look at what direction to go,” Kaut said.
Barbara Lovelady, administrative assistant at the Chehalis Fire Department, said Benton was a very good friend who she visited often. He was a captain when he retired in 1984, after almost 32 years with the department, she said.
“He was pretty special, he always had lots of stories,” she said.
Benton lost his wife a few years ago and had no children, she said. Lovelady described him as a talented carpenter who was still very active and appreciated a bargain.
“He was very well known at Safeway, and the Visiting Nurses Thrift Shop,” she said. “He was a ‘frequent flier’ there.”
He traveled by scooter, by bus and it wasn’t too many years ago he was still riding his bicycle down to the fire department to “talk the ears off” firefighters.
“Yeah, he was having trouble remembering, but it didn’t slow him down any,” Lovelady said.
He built platforms in his apple trees so he could sit up there and prune them. This past spring, Chehalis police were called more than once to his yard by worried neighbors.
Jensen said Benton came to live in her home on 12th Street about three and half years ago, after a stroke left him with short-term memory loss.
He spoke of the value of growing up poor, the importance of fitness, and at 94, could easily pass for 75, she said.
The accident left him with a broken ankle and a cut to his ear, according to the women.
Benton was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital and then later that night to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle to get his ear repaired, according to Jensen. One of her staff brought him home Tuesday evening, she said.
He just wasn’t feeling very well, she said.
“He was sitting at the table yesterday, I made him breakfast but he wasn’t hungry,” she said. “He told me, I feel like all my friends are gathering around me.”
Benton was having shortness of breath, so she called his doctor, and then when it got worse, she called 911.
“They got him on the gurney, but before they left, he passed,” she said.
The EMT told her it was most likely a blood clot, she said.
Benton is survived by three first cousins, two of them in Tacoma, according to Jensen.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Dce, I have to say I pleasantly surprised. You generally rant against law enforcement but in your post you show an understanding of the issues facing law enforcement that can have a negative effect on their ability to their job. Nicely done.
Old long johnson, Wise Man once said if the World lived by the motto of an eye for an eye, the World would be blind. “Just pun intended”, with that being said the ball lies in Law Enforcement’s court, the fact that the driver could have been impaired will never be known now. The ABC’s of Law Enforcement have been redefined for over 100 years. A community should always expect the trained men and women to follow a code of ethics when it comes to pedestrian Vs. Car Traffic Accidents. Yet once again I can see a complete failure in the investigation process. Not enough man power and lack of funding has caused the police to become Rouge Tax Collectors and not Enforcers of the peace. Epic Failure once again…… Lewis County the First County in the State and last in line when it comes to police integrity and accountability. 🙁
The person who hit this poor elderly disabled man should not be allowed to drive EVER again.
Call it a life changing event, if you will, to take away a person’s license.
But what about the man’s family? They lost a member of their family. The perpetrator should lose something in return if there is any sense of justice in Lewis County.
But, that probably won’t happen. The perp will just be waved by. Nothing to see here!
I’m surprised an advocate of the ADA (americans with disability act) hasn’t stepped up to call for justice.
I guess old people just aren’t worth a shit anymore.
Yes I know that blood is drawn at the Hospital for now, Police are training for on scene blood draws as we speak. The tide is turning for Law Enforcement… The Million Dollar Question where is the Blood Test for the Driver of the Car? If I did this I would be put under intense scrutinity…..
Oh and I back up what I say about roadside blood draws here, http://blog.motorists.org/motorists-forced-to-let-officers-draw-blood-sample-at-dui-stops/ Do the Reesearch, people. There is a specefic agenda and We the People need to stand up.. Where is the rest of the commuinity? Oh that’s right the Fluoride is making you Docile..
The lady that struck him does not deserve to be strung up. It was an accident. The cut on his ear and the broken ankle did not kill him. He was old and lived a great life.
DCE I am a little confused. “Many an elderly person takes prescription Pain Pills”. The driver of the vehicle was 53 not quite elderly. Do you mean police should do blood tests on victims on the scene? You of all people who rant againts abusive police tactics are now sanctioning taking blood samples on the scene? Who should take the samples? Police officers? Blood samples are drawn at the hospital by trained medical staff. I am just a little confused by the post as to who you think should have been blood tested.
The problem witht the investigation is that it is already tainted, We need an on the scene blood test to be taken, Many an elderly person takes prescription Pain Pills. Oh and to Colby, when I film while driving it’s point and shoot, I don’t need to look at the device I am holding. I’m that good
George was a good man. I got to know him a little this year, and you’d never think he was 94. Leah’s right…he could’ve passed for 75 by looks, but he had the energy of someone half his age. I liked him.
No “texting while driving” in this one, DCE (although your point is well taken). George steadfastly refused to wear a safety vest with reflective tape on it, was wearing dark clothing at the time, didn’t like using the pedestrian flags at the crosswalk and the sun had gone down…the lady who hit him never saw him. The police have to conduct their investigation, but I can’t imagine charges being filed against her.
Dude u film shit while driving. Sharyn let him retract his rant please.
God Bless this mans heart and soul. Please do not text and drive.. Or participate in distracted driving..