By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A 25-year-old Centralia man escaped serious injury when his car was hit by not one but two semi-trucks on Interstate 5 in Chehalis today.
Tyler C. Mohoric was taken by ambulance to Providence Centralia Hospital with neck and back injuries, according to the Washington State Patrol. His 2009 Volvo was totaled.
Aid and troopers were called about 1:48 p.m. to the southbound lanes just south of Chamber of Commerce Way interchange.
A southbound Freightliner changed lanes and clipped the Volvo, spinning it around sideways into the path of a 1997 International semi truck, according to responders. The car was pushed down the freeway some 300 yards, Chehalis Fire Department Capt. Ted McCarty estimated.
“It was lucky there was nobody in the passenger side, they would have been severely injured,” McCarty said.
Firefighters were already at the scene nearby of a two-vehicle crash on Chamber Way and Louisiana Avenue and Police Chief Glenn Schaffer was stopped for a third wreck on one of the ramps, McCarty said.
The International was driven by a 57-year-old Portland man who was reportedly unhurt, but his truck sustained an estimated $6,000 damage and was towed, according to the state patrol.
Troopers blamed the driver of the Freightliner – a 44-year-old Sacramento man – for inattention and an unsafe lane change. His truck was able to be driven from the scene. He too was reportedly uninjured.
Update Tuesday June 14, 2011 at 9:30 a.m.: Mohoric has been treated and released from the hospital.