Bail was set at $100,000 on Friday for the man accused of causing a three-car collision in Centralia on Wednesday that resulted in a woman’s death.
“This is necessary to protect the public. This is a very difficult and dangerous set of facts,” Judge J. Andrew Toynbee said of the bail amount and the allegations during a preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday.
Joshua Lee Malchow, 38, of Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 25 after he received medical treatment at the hospital for a head laceration he received in the crash.
The crash itself was reported at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24 in the 400 block of Harrison Avenue. Two eye-witnesses were questioned by detectives at the scene.
According to witnesses, Malchow was traveling north on Harrison Avenue at an estimated 50 miles per hour in a blue Honda Civic. He reportedly attempted to pass a semi-truck in a no passing zone by veering into the lane of oncoming traffic, then collided head on with a black Toyota Tacoma truck in the southbound lane. The Toyota was then struck from the rear by a black Mitsubishi Eclipse.
The elderly female driver of the Toyota was unconscious when officers arrived on scene. She was transported to Centralia Providence Hospital, “where it was determined that she had suffered life-threatening injuries,” according to the Centralia Police Department.
She was airlifted from Centralia Providence Hospital to a Tacoma area hospital.
“Unfortunately, the elderly driver did not survive her injuries,” according to the Centralia Police Department.
The woman was identified in court documents Friday as 90-year-old Lois Gnegy.
Malchow was reportedly “standing on the sidewalk, bleeding from the head and mouth” when Centralia officers arrived at the scene of the crash Wednesday morning.
When questioned, Malchow allegedly “claimed he didn’t remember anything about the collision,” according to court documents.
He reportedly had a pipe, which he allegedly “admitted was used to smoke fentanyl a few days prior to the collision, on his person when he was arrested. Malchow’s blood is being tested and results are pending, according to court documents.
Malchow was charged Jan. 26 in Lewis County Superior Court with one count each of vehicular homicide, theft of a motor vehicle, and third-degree driving with a suspended/revoked license. An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 1.
The Centralia Police Department encourages anyone with information about the incident to call them at 360-330-7680 or call Lewis County Communications at 360-740-1105.
