Driver killed after speeding into gas pump in Centralia

A driver is dead after their erratic driving caused them to crash into a fuel pump on Harrison Avenue in Centralia.

Friday morning at around 6:30 a.m., Centralia Police Department was notified of a vehicle driving north in the southbound Harrison Avenue-Mellen Street collector distributor lanes that run parallel to Interstate 5. The vehicle was seen crossing over all lanes of traffic while in the collector distributor lanes.

Centralia Police Sgt. Dave Clary said witnesses had seen the vehicle traveling at “very, very high speed.”

After exiting the collector distributor lanes, the vehicle went onto Harrison Avenue, speeding across four lanes of traffic, jumping a curb, flying into a Chevron gas station and crashing into a fuel pump, Clary told The Olympian.

The driver of the vehicle was declared dead at the scene.

No one else was injured in the accident, which Clary said was good luck because “this had the potential to be a very bad situation.”

This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 11:51 AM.