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BURBANK -- A year has passed since two brothers were killed in a horrific Halloween night crash in Burbank, but a court case against one of the drivers is just beginning.
It took several months of investigation by the Washington State Patrol's major accident investigation team to determine what happened and who was at fault for the wreck that killed Jorge Daniel Mendez, 17, and his older brother Jesus Jaime "JJ" Mendez, 19.
They were passengers in a 2004 Suzuki Aerio driven by their friend and former classmate, Daniel Varela. The three teens were westbound on Highway 12 turning left onto Humorist Road when they were hit by a semitruck hauling apples and pears that was traveling east on the highway, officials said.
Conflicting witness statements led investigators to conclude it was "extremely likely" Varela had a red light when he turned left and "highly likely" that the semi driver, James Kooch, 61, of Hermiston, entered the intersection on a yellow light, according to WSP reports.
Just two weeks ago, Varela was cited in Walla Walla District Court for second-degree negligent driving. The 19-year-old has until today to respond to the infraction, either by paying the fine or contesting it and requesting a hearing.
Second-degree negligent driving is a traffic infraction and subject to a $250 fine, according to state law.
No citations were issued against Kooch because it is legal to enter a controlled intersection on a yellow light, investigators said.
Kooch suffered minor injuries and Varela had some cuts and bruises, a pinched nerve in his back and some internal injuries. Both submitted to voluntary blood tests analyzed by the Washington State Toxicology Lab.
Test results showed Kooch had no alcohol or drugs in his system, while Varela's test was negative for alcohol but positive for marijuana, according to investigation reports. WSP detectives said marijuana affects each person differently and could not determine if Varela was impaired.
A small bag of marijuana was also found hanging from one of JJ's pockets and a metal smoking device with burnt residue was on the ground near the car, reports said.
Walla Walla County Prosecutor James Nagle said there wasn't sufficient evidence about what occurred to charge Varela with vehicular homicide or any other criminal offense.
"The biggest problem with this case is we had so many different versions about what happened from the eye witnesses," Nagle said. "We don't have a solid case on who had the green light. We had witnesses that say the truck driver had the green light. We had witnesses say Mr. Varela had the green light.
"We don't have sufficient proof on what we can take to a jury and prove beyond a reasonable doubt," he added.
Nagle said he felt there was sufficient evidence to support a second-degree negligent driving offense because the standard of proof for an infraction is a "preponderance of evidence" -- less than what's required for a criminal charge.
"It's really hard to say (what happened) at the intersection because it's such a huge intersection," Nagle said. "But what we do know is it was a really, really tragic incident."
Varela's mother declined an interview request from the Herald on the advice of the family's attorney. The Mendez family didn't want to comment, either.
A civil suit is pending in Walla Walla Superior Court against both Varela and Kooch.
The lawsuit, filed in July on behalf of the brothers' mother and their estates, claims negligence by both drivers caused the teens' death. The suit asks for an unspecified amount of money from the defendants.
Investigators spent about 10 months interviewing witnesses, analyzing data such as the light sequences at the intersection and reconstructing the crash. The Herald obtained the completed report -- nearly 900 documents and more than 400 photographs -- through a public records request.
During the investigation, detectives learned Kooch was heading back to Hermiston after traveling to the Wenatchee area to pick up a load of apples and pears. He told investigators he was driving east on Highway 12 in the right lane and had a green light as he approached the Humorist Road intersection.
He said he was going 45-55 mph and was trying to see if he needed to slow down for the traffic light when he saw Varela's car either briefly stop or make a California stop at the light. Kooch said he couldn't be sure his light was green at impact but said he "thought it was green."
Kooch said he was about 50 feet from the intersection when he saw Varela's car turn in front of him. He said it seemed like Varela never saw him and never sped up or tried to avoid hitting him.
The truck driver told investigators he slammed on his brakes and tried to steer to the left, but they collided. The truck went into the ditch, slid along a chain-link fence and tipped onto the driver's side.
The crash occurred about 9 p.m.
Varela told investigators he picked up the Mendez brothers about 8:30 p.m. and went to Crazy Mary's convenience store down the street to talk to a clerk about a possible Halloween party in Pasco. They were there for about 10 minutes before they got back in the car and headed toward Varela's home. They were going to meet his brother at the SunMart, which is at Humorist Road and Highway 12, he said.
JJ was in the front passenger seat and Jorge was sitting behind him, Varela said. He told investigators the light was red when he pulled up to it and a black BMW was stopped at the light waiting to continue going straight. As he was stopping, the BMW's light turned green and about five seconds later his light also turned green and he turned left, Varela said.
Varela said he never saw the truck, never heard a horn sounding or tires screeching. He said he didn't even realize a truck had hit him until after he unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car.
The crash tore the Suzuki apart to the point where the rear of the car was even with the front of the car and the front passenger seat was thrown from the vehicle and found about 20 feet away, reports show. Both brothers, who were wearing seat belts, died at the scene.
Investigators interviewed five witnesses who were stopped at the lights or approaching the intersection. One said he "knew for a fact" the semi ran the red light, while another who was traveling the same direction of the semi truck said she believed the truck had the green light.
A couple stopped at the red light southbound on Humorist Road preparing to go straight through the intersection said their light turned green seconds after the collision.
The fifth witness said he was traveling east on Highway 12 planning to turn left onto northbound Humorist Road when he saw dust from the truck ahead of him falling onto its side. He said he then saw the eastbound left-turn light was red and the light to go straight through the intersection was green turning yellow.
After examining speed estimates and phases of the light cycle at the intersection, investigators said the most likely scenario is that Kooch's light turned yellow about 128 feet before impact and Varela's light was red when the two vehicles collided.
"Speculation as to why Varela entered the intersection on a red light are numerous," the detectives wrote.
They said reasonable explanations include failing to notice the signal, noticing the light turn green for westbound through traffic and mistaking it for a left turn signal, not paying attention or simply driving through the red light.
"Interestingly, not a single identified witness saw Varela turning," investigators wrote.
-- Paula Horton: 582-1556; phorton@tricityherald.com
