Burbank brothers die in car wreck

BURBANK -- A Burbank teen who'd fought cancer for more than three years and planned to return to school this week died along with his brother on a stretch of highway known for its deadly accidents.

Jorge Daniel Mendez, 17, and his older brother, Jesus Jaime "JJ" Mendez, 19, were killed Friday night when their car was hit by a semi-truck at the intersection of Highway 12 and Humorist Road in Burbank.

"They were likable kids," said Kyle Miller, principal at Columbia High in Burbank.

Jorge was diagnosed with acute leukemia when he was in eighth grade and had a bone-marrow transplant in 2005. He's been in-and-out of school while undergoing treatment and had just contacted school officials to see what classes he'd get to take when he went back this week, Miller said.

"That kid has been through more than any kid should have to go through with leukemia and his struggles," Miller said. "It's hard to see a kid who's that much of a survivor and has survived so much, then not."

The brothers were passengers in a 2004 Suzuki driven by friend and former classmate Daniel Varela, 18, of Burbank.

According to the Washington State Patrol, the teens were westbound on Highway 12 turning left to go south on Humorist Road when they were hit on the passenger side of the vehicle by a tractor-trailer rig.

The semi-truck, driven by James Donald Kooch, 61, of Hermiston, was eastbound on Highway 12 from the Tri-Cities.

Varela, a student at Columbia High until he transferred to another school this year, and Kooch were taken Kennewick General Hospital. Varela was in satisfactory condition Saturday night, a nursing supervisor said. Kooch was treated and released.

It's not known which vehicle was at fault, Sgt. Zach Elmore said. The state patrol's major accident team will be brought in Wednesday to help investigate.

Everyone was wearing their seat belts, he said.

"What really saved the driver in the car is his seat belt," Elmore said. "If he wasn't wearing his seat belt, I'm willing to bet it would have been a whole lot worse."

The brothers died at the scene from massive trauma, said Frank Brown, Walla Walla County coroner.

The impact of the crash split the Suzuki in half, and JJ Mendez, who was in the passenger seat, was thrown from the car, Brown said. Jorge Mendez was in the back seat behind the driver.

Brown said the brothers had left their Ice Harbor Drive home about 20 minutes before the 9 p.m. crash. They had reportedly gone to Varela's house and then were headed to a convenience store on Humorist Road, west of the highway.

"It's very tragic," Brown said. "They had only been gone just a short time."

Mueller's Greenlee Funeral Home in Pasco is in charge of the arrangements.

The Mendez brothers attended schools in the Columbia School District, and have siblings and other relatives in various grades throughout the district, Miller said. Both JJ and Jorge were caregivers for their older brother, who has a disability, and their younger siblings.

Six grief counselors will be available at the high school Monday to help students and staff, Miller said.

The schools are the center of the tight-knit Burbank community and several community members have called Miller at home to see how they can help.

"Sadly, we've been through this not too many years back," Miller said, referring to the 2004 crash that killed 18-year-old Brandon Curtis Morton, a senior at Columbia High.

Morton was killed when his car collided with a semi-truck. The crash occurred on Highway 124 at Flat Top Road about 3 miles northeast of Friday's crash.

Residents, troopers and transportation officials say Highway 12 between Highway 124 and Humorist Road is a dangerous stretch of road.

"It is scary," Miller said of the Humorist Road/Highway 12 intersection. "Another student ... got hit there a couple of years back and very luckily wasn't hurt. It's just a scary spot."

There are stoplights just over a mile apart on Highway 12 at Highway 124 and Humorist Road -- the stoplight at Highway 124 was put in a couple of years ago for safety reasons -- but Miller said both intersections are still "very frightening."

"If a big rig gets going to 60 mph and the light turns red (at the next intersection), it's not going to get back down in time to stop," he said. "When the light goes green, I make sure I look both ways and then I go."

Sgt. Elmore said the state patrol gets frequent calls about vehicles running red lights in the area.

"We work that area frequently," he said. "Drivers need to obey the speed limit and traffic signals. If a light turns yellow, it doesn't mean hurry up."

Between 1991 and 2001, 707 people were hurt and 30 killed in traffic accidents along the 35-mile stretch of Highway 12 from Burbank to Walla Walla.

The state Department of Transportation is working to fix the problems by eliminating traffic stopping at the intersections. It plans to build a new overpass and ramps at the intersections of Highways 12 and 124, and an overpass for Humorist Road over Highway 12.

Construction on the improvements, which are part of a $26.8 million safety project, is expected to begin in 2010.