High-speed crash kills Toutle man
Monday, February 13, 2006 6:39 AM PST
By Janine Manny
Printable version
E-mail this articleTOUTLE -- A 31-year-old Toutle man was killed when the vehicle he was riding in left Spirit Lake Highway early Sunday morning and crashed though an old service station building across the street from Drew's Grocery Store.
"The passenger, Dennis Steven Prudholm, died at the scene due to blunt-force trauma to the head," Cowlitz County Coroner Tim Davidson said.
According to the Washington State Patrol, the driver of the 1996 Ford F250 pickup was Brian David Kettels, 22, of Everett. WSP arrested Kettles on suspicion of vehicular homicide and also issued him citations for driving under the influence and driving too fast. Bail was set at $150,000.
The truck was traveling eastbound on Spirit Lake Memorial Highway at a high speed, according to the police report. Unable to negotiate a left turn, the driver allegedly skidded off the roadway and struck the cinder block building, breaking through two walls. The pickup came to rest inside the building.
According to an employee of Drew's Grocery, 5304 Spirit Lake Highway in Toutle, the block building was formerly a gas station and is now owned and used by the grocery store for public restrooms for customers.
According to the report, Prudholm was not wearing a seatbelt.
Kettels was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured in the crash.
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