LONGVIEW, Wash. — The Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office will lead a freeway procession on Saturday, June 6, to bring nine victims of the implosion at the Nippon Dynawave paper mill home to their families.
Procession details
The procession will begin when the Washington State Patrol joins as the coroner crosses into Lewis County at Exit 88 in Rochester at approximately 4:00 p.m., depending on traffic.
From there, the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office will join at the Cowlitz County line near Exit 57 along with two additional Coroner’s Office vehicles. The route will exit at Lexington Bridge Exit 42 and continue south along Westside Highway.
The route will continue to the Kelso area through Exit 39 near the Three Rivers Mall and proceed to the Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office.
Two victims will not be part of this procession. Dillon Miller is outside of the coroner’s jurisdiction, while the other remaining victim, Gilbert Bernal, was already transported to the Yakima area.
Where can you view the procession?
The procession will cross multiple overpasses on I-5 near and after the Cowlitz County line.
If you’d like to pay your respects, here are some viewing options:
- Old Pacific Highway overpass between the town of Castle Rock and Vader
- Huntington Avenue N. overpass in the town of Castle Rock
- Lexington Bridge in Longview
The coroner will drive a marked, silver Chevy pickup with a Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office decal and pull a white, enclosed trailer to transport the deceased.
Law enforcement asks that everyone follow traffic safety rules and make sure they don’t block traffic.
To respect the privacy of families and victims, no one is allowed to be at the Coroner’s Office as the trailer arrives, nor are they allowed to follow the trailer after it crosses the Allen Street Bridge in Longview. Law enforcement will be present to enforce this.
The victims
11 people died from the May 26 implosion. Governor Bob Ferguson has called it the deadliest industrial tragedy in modern Washington state history.
Below are the names and images of the people who lost their lives that day.
You can find fundraisers to support each of their families by clicking here.
Gilbert Bernal
Tyler Covington
Brad Covington
Robert Wilson
Dale Miller
Jarred Ammons
Braydon Finkas
CJ Doran
John Forsberg
Norman Barlow
Dillon Miller
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