Lewis Mountain Highway Transit bus is towed after wreck this morning in Glenoma with log truck. / Courtesy photo by Washington State Patrol.
Updated at 1:27 p.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A collision between a loaded log truck and a bus on U.S. Highway 12 in Glenoma this morning sent at least four people to the hospital.
Aid was called about 6 a.m. to the scene near Wills Road where the driver of the Lewis Mountain Highway Transit had made a U-turn to pick up a passenger, according to authorities.
Photographs shared by a spokesperson for the Washington State Patrol suggest damage to the vehicles was moderate. It’s not clear how many passengers the bus was carrying or how many were injured.
Four individuals were brought to Morton General Hospital and all are in stable condition, according to a hospital spokesperson.
The Morton-based bus service makes round trips each day between Packwood and the Twin Cities.
Trooper Will Finn indicated at about 7 o’clock this morning the incident was partially blocking the highway and had punctured the fuel tank of the log truck. Finn said at 8 a.m. to expect delays for another couple of hours.
The bus driver was at the hospital getting X-rayed for head and neck pain, according to Finn. A 16-year-old passenger, Jonathan Thompson of Randle, was taken to the hospital by a private party, according to the investigating trooper.
Both vehicles were westbound, and the bus attempted a U-turn in front of the log truck, according to the state patrol.
Finn indicates the bus services allows for flag down by riders, however the driver, Richard L. Hamstreet, 69, of Randle, can expect a citation for improper U-turn, according to the investigating trooper.
James P. Pence, 59, of Randle, the driver of the 2001 Kenworth reportedly is uninjured.
Both vehicles were towed from the scene.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter