Washington State Patrol confirmed that the driver of the car died at the scene. There were no passengers in either vehicle.
Chehalis, WA. – One person was killed Thursday morning after a collision involving a passenger car and a semi-truck on State Route 6.
The crash occurred shortly after 7 a.m. on eastbound SR 6 near Donahoe Road.
Washington State Patrol confirmed that the driver of the car died at the scene. There were no passengers in either vehicle.
The roadway was fully blocked for an extended period while troopers investigated and crews worked the scene. The Washington State Department of Transportation advised drivers to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.
WSP continues to investigate the cause of the collision.
Lewis County, where Chehalis is located, has experienced a challenging trend in traffic safety, with recent data showing an increase in fatal and serious injury crashes, mirroring a concerning statewide pattern. In the first five months of 2022 alone, Lewis County saw 19 fatal or serious injury crashes. This trend is part of a broader rise in severe collisions across Washington State, which has seen overall traffic fatalities reach their highest number since 1990. Lewis, along with several other counties including Benton, Franklin, Lincoln, Spokane, and Thurston, was specifically noted as having an increase in fatalities in 2023 compared to 2022. The primary contributing factors to these severe crashes at the state level are consistently impairment (alcohol/drugs), speed, distraction, and a lack of seatbelt use, which are involved in over 75 percent of all traffic fatalities. Lewis County is largely rural, where nearly half of all fatal crashes occur nationally due to factors like higher speeds and delays in emergency medical services.
Did You Lose Your Loved One in this Collision?
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