WILDFIRE, POSSIBLE DEATH AVERTED
• Responders rushed to a call of a possible brush fire along Interstate 5 near Vader yesterday afternoon but found instead a man sitting atop a gas can smoking a cigarette. His car had run out of fuel and was stopped on the the northbound onramp near the Gee Cees truck stop, according to Lewis County Medic One paramedic Jason Shepherd. He was told he’d shouldn’t be doing that, Shepherd said. Responders suspect the 911 caller may have just seen some dust kicked up by the car. A paramedic got the Chehalis man some gasoline and while they were fueling up the vehicle for him, he tried once more to light up, Shepherd said. “He was definitely not understanding us, or maybe he was just shining us on.”
NEAR MISS ON LOGGING ROAD
• A log truck tipped over far enough to lose its load but then righted itself yesterday morning on the 200 block of Green Mountain Road in Mossyrock. The 26-year-old Port Angeles driver said he was leaving a work site when he had to move to the far right because an oncoming Honda crossed over the centerline, according to Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The cab and trailer touched the ground and spilled the logs before tipping back up, according to the sheriff’s office. The damage to the trailer was estimated at $1,500, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. The Honda driver returned briefly and then took off, according to Brown.
CAR VERSUS TREE
• A 32-year-old Chehalis man reportedly was uninjured when he lost control of his Ford Escort and slid sideways into a tree on the 1000 block of North Fork Road outside Chehalis last night. A deputy called just before 10 p.m. cited the driver for second-degree negligent driving and no insurance, according to Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The car sustained major damage, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.
FAMILY SUSPECTED IN JEWERY, TRUCK THEFT
• A Chehalis area man called sheriff’s office last night when he returned home and discovered his 1989 Dodge pickup truck was missing. A deputy called to the home on the 800 block of Lucas Creek Road was told the man’s sister-in-law from Florida had been staying with him as his wife recently passed away, according to Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. She was due to fly home Wednesday and the 52-year-old victim was out of town until yesterday, the sheriff’s office reported. Also missing was most of the wife’s jewelry, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.
BURGLARY
• A computer was reported stolen from a home yesterday a the 1100 block of Plum Street in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.
MISSING CAR FOUND IN WOODS
• A 1989 Acura Legacy stolen earlier this month in Chehalis turned up yesterday on a logging road near the 1000 block of Brown Road West near Chehalis, according to Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
VANDALISM
• Centralia police took a report yesterday of someone using a rock to break the window of a vehicle overnight at the 100 block of East Center Street.
DRUGS
• A 23-year-old Chehalis man was arrested for a warrant and possession of methamphetamine after he was spotted walking in the area of the 1400 block of South Market Boulevard in Chehalis about 11:45 p.m. yesterday. An officer found a baggie of suspected methamphetamine in his pocket, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Ezekiel L. Johnson was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police. He is to be released on the potential drug offense with no charges pending further investigation.