[1]The intersection of Borthwick Street and Marsh Avenue in Centralia. / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Responders found the driver unconscious after a sport utility vehicle ran into the side of a house in Centralia yesterday afternoon and police say she passed away at the hospital.
The residence was unoccupied at the time and a young boy in the vehicle was uninjured, according to Riverside Fire Authority.
Police called at 3:56 p.m. to the scene at the intersection of Borthwick Street and Marsh Avenue report the vehicle was said to have struck the house at a high rate of speed after leaving the roadway after the driver may have suffered a medical event.
The first arriving emergency medical service units began CPR on the female driver and she was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital in critical condition, according to Fire Capt. Terry Ternan.
Ternan indicated the structure damage to the home left it unsafe to occupy.
The Washington State Patrol responded as well and the collision is under investigation. The cause of death is unknown as of this morning, according to the Centralia Police Department.