A 43-year-old Rochester man died in a head-on collision on U.S. Highway 12 in Rochester Friday night, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Troopers said Mark D. Stone was traveling eastbound on the highway at the Denmark Street Southwest intersection when his 1996 Ford Windstar van crossed the center line into the westbound lane, striking a 1999 Oldsmobile Alero head-on at 7:41 p.m.
Carmon L. Gillaspie, 19, Chehalis, was driving the Alero and was subsequently airlifted from the scene to Harborview Medical Center. Her condition has been upgraded to serious, the hospital told The Chronicle this morning, but she remains in the intensive care unit at Harborview with unspecified injuries.
Two passengers in the Alero, Trevor R. Duncanhostick, 23, Oakville, and Vincent R. Thorp, 19, Walla Walla, were taken by ambulance to Providence Centralia Hospital, where they were treated and released.
The State Patrol was still investigating the cause of the crash Monday. According to a crash memo provided by the State Patrol, Stone had left the roadway to the right, striking a guardrail and then corrected, coming into the westbound lane and colliding with the Alero.
Troopers don't know if drugs or alcohol were a factor.
The crash created havoc with traffic in the area Friday evening, completely shutting down U.S. Highway 12 for just over three hours and causing Washington State Dept. of Transportation crews to route traffic onto local roads.
Friday's collision was the second fatality on that same U.S. Highway 12 stretch at Rochester this year. Ashley R. Davis-Jones, 22, Tumwater, was killed in February when she crashed into a semi-truck after apparently texting while driving on the Scatter Creek bridge, troopers said.
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Christopher Brewer: (360) 807-8235
