Wreck Spills The Beans About Making Meth

A man whose camper overturned beside a day-care center Wednesday told sheriff’s officers the camper contained dangerous chemicals, prompting them to evacuate a neighborhood for several hours.

It all started when a camper crashed through a fence and overturned about 10 miles west of here. No one was injured.

The driver, who was not identified, told officers he had chemicals in the vehicle that could be used to make methamphetamine, an illegal drug, Yakima County Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Gill said.

Officers worried there might be ether - which is highly explosive - in the vehicle, so they evacuated nearby residents of the rural area and closed several streets, Gill said.

The driver worried the chemicals might have spilled when the camper overturned but authorities later determined there was no spill, Lt. Ken Irwin said. A small amount of chemicals was found.

The adventure gave officers enough information to arrest the man for investigation of possession of a controlled substance to manufacture methamphetamine.