[1]Firefighters respond to truck versus semi collision on Interstate 5 at Centralia. / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A loaded horse trailer broke loose from a truck on Interstate 5 in Centralia today, leading to the pickup swerving and then getting struck by a semi truck.
Troopers and aid called about 12:45 p.m. to the northbound lanes just south of the freeway exit to Harrison Avenue found the Ford pickup truck atop the concrete center barrier facing the wrong direction.
The horse trailer gradually parked itself about 100 yards away against a guard rail on the right shoulder, according to responders.
The passenger had only minor injuries but the driver was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with possible serious injuries, Riverside Fire Authority Capt. Terry Ternan said.
Crews had to cut him out of the vehicle, Ternan said.
The investigating trooper reports the horses were not injured and the cause of the incident was the hitch breaking.
Passenger Flora L. Wood, 64, of Graham, was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital. The driver, Donald R. Rackley, 68, of Graham, was airlifted from Providence with possible head and other injuries, according to responders.
The semi-truck driver, 66-year-old Arnold Horath of Tenino, was unhurt, according to the Washington State Patrol.