A 60-year-old woman was significantly injured when a vehicle crashed into her house in the 2400 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia on Monday afternoon.
The vehicle, a 2008 Nissan Altima, was traveling southbound on North Pearl Street when the driver, a 34-year-old Tacoma woman, reportedly fell asleep at the wheel and left the roadway, striking the residence.
The vehicle came to rest after hitting the victim, who received “significant injuries to her leg” and was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital to be airlifted, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Department.
A 4-year-old boy who was inside the house at the time of the crash was uninjured.
Deputies with the sheriff’s office, officers with the Centralia Police Department and first aid personnel were dispatched to the scene at 2:48 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office had not released the names of the victim or the driver as of Tuesday morning.
When questioned on Monday, the driver reportedly “informed deputies she had fallen asleep at the time of the incident” and allegedly admitted “to prior controlled substance use.”
“The incident is still under investigation and it is anticipated she will be referred to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office for vehicular assault,” Field Operations Chief Dusty Breen told The Chronicle in an email Tuesday morning.
Centralia City Light responded to the scene Monday afternoon to remove a guide wire that was damaged when the vehicle left the roadway. Lewis County Emergency Management also responded Monday to conduct a county liability evaluation, which is standard whenever anyone is airlifted from within Lewis County, according to Deputy Director Ross McDowell.
