A crash last Friday night near the I-5 southbound off-ramp at exit 42 in Kelso involved a semi-truck and a passenger truck. The semi-truck driver, 57-year-old Brian Campbell from Salem, was trapped in the overturned vehicle and later died from his injuries. Another person was hospitalized.
KATU reported that the rescue operation took over two hours, during which they used the jaws of life to free the trapped driver, Brian Campbell.
Multiple agencies, including Washington State Patrol, Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue, and Longview and Cowlitz County Fire Departments, responded to the scene just before 11:30 p.m. Some responders, with up to 20 years of experience, described the accident as one of the most complex they had encountered, as noted by KPTV.
Campbell was initially taken to a hospital in Vancouver for significant muscular skeletal injuries and a severe injury to his lower left leg. He was then transferred to a trauma center for further treatment but unfortunately succumbed to his injuries, as reported by KGW.
The driver of the passenger truck, 58-year-old Daren Bowlby of Castle Rock, was also taken to a hospital for chest pain during the accident. Bowlby is now facing charges of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence, according to information from a Washington State Patrol press release.
