Man killed in crash that closed Old Highway 99 has been identified

The driver who died in a crash with a dump truck on Monday on Old Highway 99 has been identified.

Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock told The Olympian on May 22 that the person has been identified as James Emerson, 75, of Rochester. He died from multiple blunt force injuries due to the collision.

According to previous reporting from The Olympian, emergency responders were dispatched at around 9 a.m. on Monday morning to the highway, between Tenino and Tilley Road. Both vehicles had caught on fire, and the driver of the car died at the scene.

Details about the crash were not immediately available, although the car was in the truck’s lane, Thurston County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Mike Brooks told The Olympian. The road was closed for several hours, and by 7 p.m. Monday it had reopened with temporarily-reduced speed limits.

The truck driver was taken to an area hospital, South Thurston Fire officials said in a news release. In addition to South Thurston Fire, West Thurston and Tumwater fire departments also responded and provided assistance, according to the release.

Ty Vinson

The Olympian

360-357-0201

Ty Vinson covers the City of Olympia and keeps tabs on Tumwater and other communities in Thurston County. He joined The Olympian in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian and the Arizona Republic as a Pulliam Fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription