Man drives truck into Lewis River, gets out then walks away

A man drove a pickup into the Lewis River east of the Lewis River Golf Course on Tuesday afternoon, then left on foot after escaping the sinking pickup.

Firefighters and sheriff’s deputies were called to the Haapa Boat Launch, 43511 N.E. Haapa Road, shortly after 2 p.m. Someone reported seeing the vehicle in the water.

Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office Chief Criminal Deputy Charlie Rosenzweig did not know where on the river the man “put in,” and said the truck was still in the water later that afternoon.

After driving into the river, the man was able to get out and then get to shore. Investigators spoke with the man’s girlfriend and were confident no one else was in the vehicle, Rosenzweig said.

Rosenzweig said the truck would be retrieved in the next day or so.

Precisely how the truck got in the river, or why, was unclear, he said.

“Of course we’d like to talk to him, just to answer all the obvious questions,” Rosenzweig said.