By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Deputies and firefighters were called out early this morning when passersby came across a truck that was wrecked and burning on a remote road south of Glenoma. The occupant was deceased.
Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said the state patrol estimated the Ford F150 was traveling as much as 70 mph on a long straight stretch before striking a tree and catching fire.
The impact was so great it severed the tree, part of which fell back on to the vehicle, according to Breen.
It happened on the Champion 200 Line, a gravel road off of Champion Haul Road, he said.
The sheriff’s office was dispatched at 6:23 a.m. Members of Lewis County Fire District 18 were joined by personnel from Lewis County Fire DIstrict 14 and extinguished the fire.
Breen said they believe it occurred sometime around 5:30 a.m. or 6 o’clock.
The victim’s identity is being definitively established by the Lewis County Coroner’s Office, but the sheriff’s office suspects he is a 27-year-old Glenoma resident.
Chief Breen said as of this afternoon, they didn’t really know how or why it happened.