A fatal two-vehicle crash early Monday on U.S. Highway 12 in Lewis County injured a driver from La Center.
A Washington State Patrol crash memo says that Ray Gleason, 43, of Olympia, was traveling west on the highway at Milepost 92 in a Toyota Prius. He left the road to the right and struck a guardrail, and then went back across his lane and crossed the centerline.
Gleason entered the lane of opposing traffic and collided head-on with a Nissan SUV driven by Tyler Collins, 25, of La Center, troopers said.
Collins was injured and taken to an Arbor Health hospital in Morton. His passenger, 20-year-old Castle Rock resident James R. Smith, was declared dead at the scene of the crash.
