[1]Car comes to rest a few feet away from gas pump after impact. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 5
CLOSE CALL AT SPIFFY’S CORNER GAS STATION
• A motorist was arrested but lucky to be alive after a collision at a Lewis County gas station that knocked over a gas pump and sparked a fire. Firefighters called just before 5 o’clock yesterday morning to the AM/PM at U.S. Highway 12 near Interstate 5 found flames rising from the pump and the fuel around it, according to Lewis County Fire District 5. Lt. Laura Hanson said they extinguished it with foam. An employee had used the emergency shut off switch, she said. The driver exited the car before crews arrived, Hanson said. He was taken to the hospital for reasons which were unknown to her, but were not for any burn injuries, she said. Washington State Patrol Trooper Will Finn said possible charges included driving under the influence in a car stolen car from Tenino as well as hit and run. John R. Loutzenhiser, 26, from Roy, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Finn. The investigating trooper could not determine the reason Loutzenhiser collided with the gas pump, other than he was intoxicated, Finn said.
OUT OF CONTROL
• Centralia police arrested a 27-year-old driver overnight after he led officers on a high-speed chase around the city running stop signs and traffic lights and allegedly tried to hit police cars with his vehicle multiple times. It began about 12:35 a.m. when, police say, Michael P. Miller-Gobal failed to stop for officers when he was signaled to do and ended when his car blew out a front tire and he fled on foot. One patrol car was disabled when it struck a curb but nobody was injured, according to the Centralia Police Department. Miller, described as a transient who lives in Centralia, was apprehended and booked into the Lewis County Jail for eluding, possession of methamphetamine, misdemeanor warrants and second-degree assault, according to police.
• Police responded about 3:15 p.m. yesterday to a dispute at the 1200 block of Alder Street and arrested two Centralia residents for violating protection orders they have against each other. Patsy A. Bartlett, 46, was also arrested for misdemeanor assault and several warrants, according to the Centralia Police Department. She and Mark A. Johnson, 60, were booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.
BURGLARY
• Centralia police responded to a burglary at the 1200 block of West Main Street on Wednesday afternoon in which home electronics and jewelry were stolen.
• More than $2,000 worth of valuables were stolen in a residential burglary on the 2000 block of Lincoln Creek Road northwest of Centralia on Thursday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy called to the scene learned the break-in occurred sometime between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office. Among the missing items are two flat screen televisions and numerous pieces of jewelry, Sgt. Rob Snaza said.
VEHICLE PROWL
• Chehalis police were contacted on Thursday about a vehicle prowl on Northeast Adams Avenue and another on North National Avenue.
• Chehalis police were called to the parking lot at Wal-Mart regarding a vehicle prowl on Wednesday morning and later in the day to other prowls on South Market Boulevard, Northeast Terrace Road and Southeast Park Hill Road.
DRUGS
• A 51-year-old Cinebar man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and a warrant when he was contacted by police about 10:30 p.m. on Thursday at the 1500 block of Delaware Avenue in Centralia. Howard D. Eslick was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• A 22-year-old Centralia resident was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and a warrant when contacted by police around 2 p.m. on Wednesday at the 900 block of Alder Street in Centralia. Darcie N. Negrete was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• A 60-year-old man was arrested when deputies assisted the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force serve a search warrant at the 400 block of Leudinghaus Road in Dryad on Tuesday evening. A large amount of methamphetamine and marijuana was recovered as well as a stolen firearm, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Edward K. Baker was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office. He was released pending further investigation.
COLLISIONS
• A utility truck caught fire and its driver suffered minor scrapes when the vehicle lost power and rolled backwards over an embankment on Tuesday morning at the 400 block of Wildwood Road near Vader, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office took a report of a hit and run accident about 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 8 in which a motorcycle collided with a light-colored mid-sized sedan at the 3900 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia. The 44-year-old Centralia resident said she was headed northbound when the car pulled onto the roadway attempting to head south and her 2007 Suzuki hit the car’s left side and she ended up sliding down the road, according to the sheriff’s office. Her injuries were minor, according to the sheriff’s office.
UPDATE: DECEASED TRANSIENT REUNITED WITH FAMILY
• The Lewis County Coroner’s Office reports a staff member was to fly to San Francisco to hand deliver the cremated remains of Manabu Ishikawa to his family prior to his memorial service scheduled for today. Ishikawa, 49, died in a Centralia motel this summer and was about to be buried [2] in a Chehalis cemetery with other unclaimed persons when an employee of the motel tracked down his friends and family via Facebook. Coroner Warren McLeod said his mother would be flying from Japan to San Francisco for the service.
AND MORE
• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarms, misdemeanor thefts, collisions, hit and run, shoplifting, suspicious circumstances; complaint of neighbor revving an engine for about 45 minutes … and more.