Updated at 7:29 p.m.
CRASH CENTRALIA-ALPHA ROAD
• A 38-year-old Winlock resident was injured last night when he wrecked his truck on the 2200 block of Centralia-Alpha Road southwest of Chehalis, in the same area where a Centralia man was killed early last month after he lost control of his car and struck a tree. Deputies and aid called about 8:20 p.m. to the scene near Senn Road found the Ford F350 pickup had been westbound and rolled into a tree, creasing the passenger compartment on its top. The driver got himself out, but he had a head injury and possibly broken hand, according to Lewis County Fire District 6. “He does not remember how the collision occurred,” Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Chief Stacy Brown said. The patient was transported with advanced life support medics to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to District 6 Fire Chief Tim Kinder. Kinder said the accident was within about 100 yards of the Dec. 6 incident [1] that took the life of 25-year-old Dustin N. Meyer. It’s a stretch of road that’s seen many collisions, according to firefighters. “I think it’s uneven, or it dips, or it does something odd,” Kinder said. “If you come around the corner not paying attention, or going too fast, it’ll kick you into the trees.” Last night’s driver was expected to be cited for wheels off the roadway, the sheriff’s office reports.
WRECK STATE ROUTE 7
• Two people were injured and one airlifted to a Seattle hospital after an overnight single-vehicle wreck about two miles north of Morton. Troopers responding about 1:30 a.m. report a 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse was southbound on state Route 7 when it veered to the right, striking a guard rail and then veered off the left side of the roadway striking the dirt embankment. The driver, Kara D. Bovee, 23, from Tacoma, was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to the Washington State Patrol. She faces a charge of driving under the influence, according to the state patrol. Her passenger, Shaun L. Sanchez, 26, from University Place, was transported to Morton General Hospital, the investigating trooper reports.
BIG SPENDERS CHEAT RETAILER
• Chehalis police were called to Wal-Mart yesterday afternoon following the discovery that someone had passed 11 fake $20 bills. It happened sometime between 4:30 a.m. and 8 a.m., and a look at security video indicated it was a male and a female, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The counterfeit money was taken into evidence and the investigation continues, according to police.
EASY PICKINGS
• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports someone prowled a truck on the 100 block of Mienars Road in Morton sometime between 7 p.m. on Tuesday and 10 a.m. the following morning. Stolen from the unlocked Toyota Tacoma was a generation five iPod and a digital camera, according to the sheriff’s office. “This is an excellent time to remind people that they really need to keep their vehicles locked and not give thieves easy access to valuables inside,” Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. Better yet, don’t leave valuables in vehicles to entice them, Brown says.
CHIMNEY FIRE
• Winlock firefighters were called out about 6 p.m. yesterday for a chimney fire on the 300 block of Southeast Front Street. “Crews arrived pretty fast, we extinguished it in the chimney,” Firefighter Patrick Jacobson said. “We checked for extension, and there was none.” Firefighters like it when they stay in the chimney, he said.
FENDER BENDER
• A driver pulled out of a parking lot in front of a Centralia police car yesterday causing a minor collision. Nobody was hurt and the damage was minor, according to the Centralia Police Department. Further details were not readily available.
AND MORE
• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, domestic misdemeanor assault, driving under the influence, protection order violation, driving with suspended license; responses for disputes, harassment, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street … and more.