Updated at 1:10 p.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Three men from Rochester and Centralia were killed this morning when a log truck and a Toyota pickup collided on U.S. Highway 12 in Ethel.
Aid and troopers were called just before 6:30 a.m. to the scene near Larmon Road, according to responders.
The log truck was not loaded, but it caught fire, according to Lewis County Fire District 5.
The men, whose names have not been released, are ages 49, 44, and 46, according to the Washington State Patrol.
The 1992 Toyota was traveling east on U.S. Highway 12 when the driver lost control on some ice and crossed the centerline, according to the state patrol. It was broadsided by the westbound Kenworth, according to the patrol.
The Toyota came to rest on the south side of the highway; the log truck on the north, according to the patrol.
The men died at the scene, according to the investigating trooper.
The log truck driver, James K. Chenoweth, 35, of Glenoma, was reportedly uninjured.
The identities of the victims won’t be released until their next-of-kin have been notified.
Icy roads contributed to numerous other minor collisions this morning in that area around Highway 12 and Interstate 5, according to Trooper Ryan Tanner. Fire Lt. Laura Hanson said crews noted about 20 accidents in the area.
Larmon Road is about three miles east of Interstate 5, Tanner said.
The Toyota was described as totaled. The Kenworth sustained an estimated $10,000 damage.
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Correction: This has been updated to reflect the three men were all in the Toyota as the fire department reported; not two in the Toyota and one of the victims in the log truck as the state patrol mistakenly reported.
Correction: The amount of damage to the log truck has been corrected, as it was erroneously noted as much lower.