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One dead after semi crash near Packwood

Updated at 8:54 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A truck driver from Longview is dead after his big rig slid on its side through a guard rail off U.S. Highway 12 near Packwood, went over an embankment and landed on its top.

Troopers called about 3:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon reported it happened about eight miles east of Packwood near milepost 139, at the cut off to state Route 123.

The 1989 Peterbilt hauling a trailer of wood chips was traveling west bound and downhill when the driver lost control, failed to negotiate a left hand curve and wrecked, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The driver is identified as James V. Dorsett, 38, of Longview.

The cause is under investigation.

“The only thing we can assume is the brakes failing,” Trooper Jason Hicks said, speculating the driver “rode” the brakes coming off White Pass causing them to heat up and then weren’t there for him when he needed them.

The roadway was dry, he said.

The back half of the trailer broke off and shot all the way down the 200 foot hill almost to state Route 123, Hicks said. The cab got hung up in the trees, he said.

Dorsett was not wearing a seatbelt, but the truck sustained significant damage to its top, according to Hicks.