Lewis County Sirens.com

Honda CRX rests off the roadway along Salzer Valley Road. / Courtesy photo by Aaron Towman

Updated at 6:54 p.m.

MOTORIST CRITICAL AFTER CENTRALIA WRECK

• A 25-year-old driver was seriously injured when he was thrown from his car last night east of Centralia. Firefighters and deputies responding about 7:40 p.m. to the 1900 block of Salzer Valley Road found the 1991 Honda CRX was destroyed in the single-vehicle wreck, according to Riverside Fire Authority. A passenger had been seat belted in and suffered only minor cuts and bruises, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. But Blake S. Cohoon, 25, from Arizona, wasn’t using his seat belt and suffered life-threatening injuries, according to responders. He was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. A spokesperson from the hospital said he was in surgery at noontime, and listed in critical condition. The sheriff’s office suspects Cohoon had been drinking and that speed contributed to the crash. The case will be referred to prosecutors for a charge of first-degree negligent driving, Cmdr. Dusty Breen said.

DRUGS

• A 37-year-old Centralia man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine yesterday afternoon following a traffic stop at the 1200 block of Alder Avenue in Centralia. Dennis A Johnston was found to be driving with a suspected license and suspected meth was found during the contact, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

LOST AND FOUND

• Centralia police were called to 1300 block of Kayu Lane in Centralia yesterday morning about  10-speed bike someone had taken from the carport area of a home. The bicycle was subsequently found in some bushes off Reynolds Road and returned to its owner, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FIRE ALONG TRACKS FOLLOWS BACKFIRING LOCOMOTIVE

• Rail traffic was stopped this afternoon after an older locomotive backfired and presumably was what ignited a pile of old and rotting railroad ties next to the track near Reynolds and Blair roads in Centralia. Employees of Puget Sound and Pacific Rail who called 911 about 3:10 p.m. said they saw a four-foot flame come from the top of the engine, according to Riverside Fire Authority. They tried to put it out with fire extinguishers and arriving firefighters finished the job without complication, according to a summary of the incident. It was a roughly 10 foot by 30 foot pile of ties, and flames had spread slowly into light vegetation, according to the fire department.

DEPUTY MISSES ELK, RUNS INTO TREE

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office revealed today that one of its deputies on routine patrol swerved to miss an elk on the roadway and struck a tree, totaling a 2013 Ford Explorer Interceptor SUV. The deputy was transported by ambulance to St. Joseph Hospital in Tacoma to be treated for minor injuries and has been released, according to the sheriff’s office. It happened about 11 p.m. last Sunday night on state Route 706 near Ashford, according to Chief Deputy Stacy Brown. The accident is being investigated by the Washington State Patrol, Brown indicated.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, disorderly conduct, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for dispute, misdemeanor assault, suspicious circumstances … and more.

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MEDICAL OXYGEN CATCHES FIRE AT CENTRALIA HOME

• A resident smoking near medical oxygen ignited a fire overnight at the 1300 block of Oxford Avenue in Centralia. Crews dispatched at 2:40 a.m. saw light smoke coming out the doors and windows of the home, according to Riverside Fire Authority. Once inside, they extinguished a bedroom fire before it extended into the structure, according to a brief summary of the incident. All occupants were evacuated and no injuries were noted, according to Riverside. The damage is estimated at $1,000.

DOWNTOWN CENTRALIA RESTAURANT KITCHEN FIRE HALTED

• Firefighters from Centralia and Chehalis responded about 9:30 p.m. yesterday to a reported fire in a restaurant on the 300 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia. Once inside, they found that the fire suppression hood had been activated due to a fire from a cooking appliance, according to Riverside Fire Authority. The damage at the downtown building was described as light. The business is Great Cuisine of India.

FIRE EXTINGUISHED AT STORAGE UNIT BUSINESS

• Firefighters called about 8:15 p.m. yesterday to a commercial storage business on the 2900 block of Jackson Highway south of Chehalis found a small fire in a wall, according to Newaukum Valley Fire and Rescue, formerly known as Lewis County Fire District 5. The cause is under investigation, Chief Gregg Peterson said.

DRYER FIRE

• Firefighters called about 7:10 p.m. yesterday to a dryer fire at the 1000 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia extinguished it and took the dryer outside, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

SUSPICIOUS FIRE ON LOGGING ROAD

• A deputy was called early yesterday to the woods outside of Morton after the discovery of a truck that that had burned. The branches around it were still warm but there was nobody around, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said it was 1990s model four-door Toyota 4Runner, but the license plate was melted so they’re not sure what state it was from. The 12:05 a.m. call was to the area of Mosswood Road and Forest Service Road 73 but the scene was actually 10 to 15 miles up a logging road, Brown said. They turned it over to the Forest Service to investigate, Brown said.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Police were called about 12:30 a.m. today about a car prowl at the 1300 block of Windsor Avenue in Centralia. A window was broken and a stereo speaker was taken, according to the Centralia Police Department.

UNRULY PERSON

• A case of a patient at Providence Centralia Hospital who reportedly got angry and broke off a IV holder from a bed is being referred to prosecutors for a possible charge of third-degree malicious mischief, according to the Centralia Police Department. Officers called at about 1:40 p.m. yesterday to the 900 block of South Schueber Road restrained the disorderly male subject, according to police.

DRUGS

• Police arrested a 20-year-old Chehalis woman yesterday for possession of heroin after they responded to the Yard Birds Mall about someone attempting to spend a counterfeit $50 bill. An officer called at 5 p.m. yesterday to the 2100 block of North National Avenue was told one of the vendors was the victim and when Kristina S. Bailey was searched, the suspected drug was found, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Bailey was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

LOST AND FOUND

• A citizen contacted police yesterday morning and turned over a baggie of bills that were found at a bus stop on the 1400 block of Johnson Road in Centralia.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, trespassing, misdemeanor assault, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street; request for help removing a bat from inside a house … and more.

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PEDESTRIAN SCARES MOTORIST

• Centralia police took a report yesterday about 6:30 p.m. that a man aggressively approached the driver of a car at Harrison Avenue and Belmont Street, told her to get out and threatened her with a flashlight. She left the scene unharmed and no arrest had been made as of this morning, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFT

• Chehalis police are investigating an incident where an iPad was missing from a backpack that was being held for a 14-year-old at Wal-Mart yesterday.

DRUGS

• Officers arrested a 15-year-old for being in possession of marijuana yesterday morning at the 800 block of Eshom Road in Centralia. The teen was released to a parent, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SUSPECTED GUNSHOTS FIRED ON I-5

• Troopers are seeking witnesses to a road rage incident that occurred southbound Interstate 5 just south of Tumwater yesterday evening. It began near milepost 101 and escalated with possible shots fired before a gray Chevrolet Equinox sport utility vehicle exited the freeway at exit 95, according to the Washington State Patrol. The other vehicle is described as a single cab brown pickup truck with a canopy and Oregon license plates, according to the state patrol. Anyone who saw what happened or has any information about it is asked to contact the Washington State Patrol at 360-586-1999.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, probation violation, misdemeanor assault, driving under the influence, failing to transfer vehicle title, failing to register as a sex offender; responses for alarm, dispute, hit and run, protection order violation, collision on city street, stolen vehicles that just turned out to have been parked where their owners weren’t looking them; complaint of male sitting on a bench begging for money in downtown Chehalis … and more.