A Dodge Neon was rear ended, shoved into a truck and then hit from behind again on Interstate 5 in Centralia. / Courtesy photo by Washington State Department of Transportation
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Two teenagers from Winlock were injured in a five vehicle chain reaction collision on Interstate 5 in Centralia this afternoon.
The Dodge Neon they were traveling in was struck from behind by a box truck and pushed into a pickup truck, according to Washington State Patrol.
Troopers and aid were called about 12:45 p.m. to the northbound lanes in between the Mellen Street and Harrison Avenue interchanges.
Taylor J. White, 18, and Arizona R. Meyer, 17, were transported to Providence Centralia Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to responders.
“I’m pretty sure they’ll be discharged tonight,” Riverside Fire Authority Firefighter Tera Green said. “They were very lucky.”
The 2001 Isuzu box truck driven by Grady J. Bowman, 23, of Napavine, came to rest on the right shoulder and a Jeep Wrangler which was following too closely was unable to stop before colliding with the Neon and pickup, according to the Washington State Patrol.
The Neon was totaled.
The driver of the Jeep, Susan M. Creighton, 38, of Randle, was injured as well but not hospitalized, according to the state patrol.
The wrecks were blamed on inattention.
Citations were to be issued to Bowman for second-degree negligent driving and to Creighton for following too closely, according to the patrol.
Able to be driven from the scene were a Crown Victoria and the Ford pickup, the investigating trooper reports.
Back side of the Dodge Neon. / Courtesy photo by Aaron Towman
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Taylor, you sound like a very mature young person & kudos to you for sticking up for yourself so tastefully! It makes my heart hurt that people attack others like Stacey did, I hope she reads these posts and is ashamed of herself. I am so sorry this happened to you, and I am so happy to hear that you and your passenger are alive today. God bless you, and always remember to hold your head high, and when necessary, defend yourself with dignity!
Another thing, Stacey Billheimer, to call me a wreckless and careless driver? You don’t know me, and because you don’t know me, you probably wouldn’t know that I’ve never had a ticket, never been pulled over, and until Friday, I had never been in a wreck. There are multiple red dodge neons in this county, and for you to just run your mouth like this is completely unnecessary. I’m a safe, and intelligent driver. I didn’t get my license until I had my permit and had been practicing for nearly 2 years, by my own decision. I waited until I was ready and knew I would be safe to myself and those driving around me. I hope you remember this conversation for future reference before you post like that anywhere else.
To the person saying that my car was near Vader earlier that day, funny thing is, the first time my car left the house that day was to go to Centralia, and I took highway 603 until getting on the freeway entrance at NAPAVINE. I was no where near Vader the 19th, so please, before you blame ME for the accident and being reckless and careless, remember there’s more than 1 dodge neon in this city, and state. Know your facts and know what you’re claiming before trying to make someone look like the bad guy. Thanks.
It’s disappointing. Everyone judging. Posting your mean thoughts.
Bottom line: Everyone lived. Thank God!
PS Accidents happen.
I hurried into the local department store to grab some last minute Christmas gifts. I looked at all the people and grumbled to myself. I would be in here forever and I just had so much to do. Christmas was beginning to become such a drag. I kinda wished that I could just sleep through Christmas. But I hurried the best I could through all the people to the toy department. Once again I kind of mumbled to myself at the prices of all these toys. And wondered if the grandkids would even play with them.
I found myself in the doll aisle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little boy about 5 holding a lovely doll. He kept touching her hair and he held her so gently. I could not seem to help myself. I just kept looking over at the little boy and wondered who the doll was for. I watched him turn to a woman and he called his aunt by name and said, “Are you sure I don’t have enough money” She replied a bit impatiently, “You know that you don’t have enough money for it. The aunt told the little boy not to go anywhere that she had to go get some other things and would be back in a few minutes. And then she left the aisle. The boy continued to hold the doll.
After a bit I asked the boy who the doll was for. He said, “It is the doll my sister wanted so badly for Christmas. She just knew that Santa would bring it.” I told him that maybe Santa was going to bring it. He said “No, Santa can’t go where my sister is… I have to give the doll to my Momma to take to her”. I asked him where his sister was.
He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said “She has gone to be with Jesus”. My Daddy says that Momma is going to have to go be with her. My heart nearly stopped beating. Then the boy looked at me again and said, “I told my Daddy to tell Momma not to go yet. I told him to tell her to wait till I got back from the store”. Then he asked me if I wanted to see his picture. I told him I would love to. He pulled out some pictures he’d had taken at the front of the store. He said “I want my Momma to take this with her so she don’t ever forget me.” “I love my Momma so very much and I wish she did not have to leave me”. “But Daddy says she will need to be with my sister.”
I saw that the little boy had lowered his head and had grown so very quiet. While he was not looking I reached into my purse and pulled out a handfull of bills. I asked the little boy, “Shall we count that money one more time?” He grew excited and said “Yes, I just know it has to be enough”. So I slipped my money in with his and we began to count it.
Of course it was plenty for the doll. He softly said, “Thank you Jesus for giving me enough money.” Then the boy said “I just asked Jesus to give me enough money to buy this doll so Momma can take it with her to give to my sister.” “And he heard my prayer”. “I wanted to ask him for enough to buy my Momma a white rose, but I didn’t ask him, but he gave me enough to buy the doll and a rose for my Momma.” “She loves white roses so very very much”.
In a few minutes the aunt came back and I wheeled my cart away. I could not keep from thinking about the little boy as I finished my shopping in a totally different spirit than when I had started. And I kept remembering a story I had seen in the newspaper several days earlier about a drunk driver hitting a car and killing a little girl and the Mother was in serious condition. The family was deciding on rather to remove the life support. Now surely this little boy did not belong with that story.
Two days later I read in the paper where the family had disconnected the life support and the young woman had died. I could not forget the little boy and just kept wondering if the two were somehow connected. Later that day, I could not help myself and I went out and bought some white roses and took them to the funeral home where the young woman was. And there she was holding a lovely white rose, the beautiful doll, and the picture of the little boy in the store.
I left there in tears, my life changed forever. The love that little boy had for his little sister and his mother was overwhelming. And in a split second a drunk driver had ripped the life of that little boy to pieces. “We make a living by what we get; We make a life by what we give.”
Blee Bloo” I agree with you except that the only distractions are the ones we bring with us. Texting, talking on the phone, eating, applying make up, etc.
Following too closely is a big one and that is compounded by the fact everyone is going at least the speed limit.
I never understand how a vehicle gets rear ended while traveling on the freeway unless the driver behind is completely oblivious, is distracted or is just homicidal. The good things here is that no one was killed one wee before Christmas.
there is no reason for an accident to happen on the freeway, it’s certainly easier and safer than driving on a city street. there are no distractions and everyone is going pretty much the same speed, the only real danger is changing lanes. it always amazes me that freeway accidents happen at all.
To the comment above. You may have seen the neon “flying past you and said they were careless, but reading the article, they were the ones hit. Hit and push from behind by a box truck. Referring to the accident , clearly the careless driver was the box truck. He caused the accident. As well as the jeep that was fallowing too close. The people in the neon, however fast you mayb feel they were going at the time YOU saw them, were lucky to walk away from the accident . If the were recklessly driving, they would have been the onse cited. So please remember to a. Always know the facts before you comment, and b. Make sure to mention that you are thankful that the “victimized” car did not end up with dead people in it due to OTHER careless drivers.
Regardless of whether she was driving fast or not, it was not her fault she was rear ended then shoved into another vehicle!! @stacybillheimer
This little neon that is totalled flew past me on I-5 going North just past Vader today. This afternoon. I get off at exit 76. Traffic slowed and i saw a warning, traffic delay because of wreck and wondered if this car was involved. Saw this and sure enough! The driver was wreckless, careless.