By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A woman walking in a crosswalk at the hub of an STP bike ride rest area in Chehalis was struck by a car last night and life flighted to a Portland hospital.
The 57-year-old pedestrian is a resident of Hood River, Ore. She was in town as part of the support group for her husband who was participating in the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic.
Aid and police were called about 8:50 p.m. to the intersection of Southwest 13th Street and William Avenue near Recreation Park.
Chehalis Police Department Officer Steve Nikander said the driver of a passenger car – a 16-year-old Chehalis girl – was turning onto William and didn’t see the woman in the crosswalk.
“The sun was setting, it was in a spot where it blinded her,” Nikander said this morning.
The woman, whose name was not released, was crossing the street with her husband when she was hit, according to the Chehalis Fire Department.
Some 10,000 bicyclists are participating in the weekend event, and many of them take a Saturday night break, camping in Recreation Park. It happened in front of the V. R. Lee building.
Fire Capt. Casey Beck said she landed about 12 feet from the crosswalk.
His understanding from the hospital was she suffered several skull fractures, he said. She was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital and then flown by helicopter to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, Beck said.
Chehalis police Sgt. Brian Hickey said he spoke this afternoon to the woman’s husband and she is in critical condition.
The Honda Civic was traveling east on 13th Street and making a left turn onto William, Hickey said. The pedestrian was in the crosswalk on William, he said.
The preliminary investigation showed no indication of excess speed, and the department will have further information after it gets back a Washington State Patrol accident technician’s report, Hickey said.
•••
This news story was updated at 4:45 p.m. Sunday July 18, 2010
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter