By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A pair of Longview women escaped serious injury but their Suburban was destroyed when it struck a cow standing on U.S. Highway 12 in Randle yesterday.
“It was a black cow of course, at night,” Randle-area Fire Chief Jeff Jaques said. “And by the time they saw it, they were pretty much on top of it.”
Aid and troopers were called about 11:50 p.m. to the scene about three miles east of Randle.
The driver of the 1999 Chevrolet Suburban, Michelle A. Wallace, 42, was reportedly not hurt. Passenger Sarah N. Wallace, 18, was taken to Morton General Hospital with an injured knee, according to the Washington State Patrol.
The vehicle continued eastbound about 300 feet, crossing the oncoming lanes and coming to rest on the opposite shoulder, according to authorities. The cow didn’t survive, Jaques said.
State Patrol Sgt. Jason Ashley said it’s not uncommon in the roughly three mile stretch on the flats for troopers to have to chase cattle of the highway.
“It’s a fence issue I think,” Ashley said this morning.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter