By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Police are investigating after a 26-year-old man reported he was car-jacked yesterday evening in Centralia.
The black 1999 GMC Yukon was later found burning on state Route 6 about four miles west of Pe Ell.
Police were called about 5:20 p.m. by the victim who said he had been traveling in the borrowed SUV north on North Gold Street and was being tailgated by a silver sedan so he pulled over near Ham Hill Road.
He said a man from the silver car got out, approached him and struck him in the head with a stick, according to the Centralia Police Department.
“He said he ran (away) so hard he lost his shoes in the bushes, he hitched a ride home and called 911,” detective Sgt. Carl Buster said this morning.
The 26-year-old Centralia man described his assailant as about 6-foot 4-inches tall, on the heavier side and bald, maybe with a tattoo under his eyes, Buster said.
Police booked the victim into the Lewis County Jail because he was wanted for a warrant, but got a call from the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office about 11 p.m., according to Buster.
Someone had reported the GMC Yukon was on fire on state Route 6 about milepost 23, he said.
Buster said he expected detectives would be getting the report from Pacific County and attempt to contact the registered owner of the Yukon.
The victim didn’t have a visible injury, according to the incident report Buster referred to for his information this morning.