PRESS RELEASE
FATAL COLLISION INVESTIGATION A22-1141
MAY 9TH, 2022
At about 0045 hours of May 8, 2022, Cowlitz 911 received reports of a crash in the area of Pacific Way and Lone Oak Rd, Longview. Cowlitz County deputies and Cowlitz 2 Fire/Rescue responded to the area and located a single vehicle that had been involved in a collision. Cowlitz 2 worked to remove the five occupants from the vehicle. Two passengers in the vehicle died from their injuries. Front seat passenger Nicholas Krusmark, 21, Longview, and rear passenger Clayton Carney, 23, Longview, were pronounced deceased at the scene.
The driver, a 20-year-old female from Chehalis, was transported by LifeFlight to Southwest Medical Center in critical condition. Two additional passengers, both 20 years of age from Longview, were transported to St John Medical Center for treatment. One was later transferred to Legacy Salmon Creek Medical center. Both surviving passengers were upgraded from serious to moderate condition.
Preliminary investigation determined the involved vehicle, a 2010 Scion tC coupe, was traveling westbound on Pacific Way at a high rate of speed when it began to slide through a curve on wet pavement. The vehicle crossed the oncoming lane and left the roadway. As the vehicle left the roadway, it went airborne and impacted a large tree on the passenger side. The impact caused significant intrusion into the vehicle and fatally injured two occupants. The driver and two passengers are expected to survive.
Alcohol, marijuana use, and speed are believed to be factors in this collision. The Sheriff’s Office investigation of this collision is ongoing.