By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The 65-year-old man hit by an SUV as he was crossing Interstate 5 near Vader on Friday night turned out to have been reported missing from a motel in Cowlitz County, according to the Washington State Patrol.
A trooper didn”t know that, when he encountered Daniel E. Ranney on state Route 504 in Castle Rock near the freeway, Trooper Will Finn said today.
Ranney said he was trying to get to Toledo and was impaired so the trooper gave him a lift north and dropped him at a 24-hour truck stop, Finn said.
At about 8:30 p.m. that night, troopers and aid were called to the southbound lanes near Gee Cees truck stop where Ranney had tried to cross the freeway on foot.
Finn said Ranney is from Anchorage, Alaska and was on cancer medications. He was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where he was listed this morning in serious condition. A hospital spokesperson said he is in the intensive care unit.
Finn said Ranney suffered a compound fracture of one of his limbs.
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For background, read: “News brief: Pedestrian airlifted after hit by vehicle on I-5 near Vader” from Friday February 15, 2013, here [1]