Driver dies when his vehicle crashes into a tree near the Nisqually River

A 44-year-old man was killed early Sunday when the vehicle he was driving crashed into a tree in the Nisqually Valley, according to the Thurston County Coroner and Lacey Fire District 3 officials.

The man was from Centralia, but most recently had lived in Tumwater, Coroner Gary Warnock said. His office was still trying to contact the man’s family on Monday before releasing his name. The man’s medical exam is set for Tuesday, June 18, he said.

Just before 2 a.m. Sunday, emergency responders were dispatched to a report of a truck crashing into a tree at Seventh Avenue Southeast and Memory Court, near the Nisqually River.

Once fire crews arrived, they were told by law enforcement the driver was unconscious and had no pulse, Lacey Fire District 3 Battalion Chief Tim Hulse said.

Fire crews had to extricate the man from his truck, then attempted to revive him, but he died at the scene about 2:30 a.m., Hulse said.