By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A 36-year-old motorist is jailed after he allegedly tried to fight multiple individuals at the scene of a serious two vehicle collision on Interstate 5 south of Chehalis yesterday morning.
Casey M. Specht, 36, from Puyallup, was behind the wheel of a 2012 Chrysler 300 that rear-ended Ford F350 pickup, knocking the truck off the shoulder and into a tree, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Both vehicles were totaled. The freeway was closed so a LifeFlight helicopter could pickup the most seriously injured patient, according to the state patrol.
It happened about 7:10 a.m. in the southbound lanes near the exit 68 interchange.
Trooper Brian Ashley said even a semi truck driver and other passerby’s who stopped to help were threatened. Specht reportedly assaulted a trooper and was Tased so he could be taken into custody, according to Ashley.
They believe alcohol was involved, and the cause was speeding, according to the state patrol
Specht, who was reportedly uninjured, was arrested for third-degree assault, fourth-degree assault and three counts of vehicular assault.
Ashley said one of the victims appeared to have a major back injury and another a broken arm.
One of the two truck passengers, William A. Boley, 27, from Elma, was flown to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, in Vancouver.
The other passenger, Jason McMeekin, 30, from Elma, and the driver, Jaymee J. McMeekin, 60, of Aberdeen, were both transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to the investigating trooper.
The two vehicles were impounded and Specht was booked into the Lewis County Jail.