Semi runs red light in Richland, leaves trail of wreckage in its wake

Three bad breaks may have led to a four-car pileup that injured two women when a semi truck ran a red light Wednesday morning in Richland.

The semi, driven by Apolinar P. Lopez-Varela, 62, of Walla Walla, was heading east on Highway 240 when it failed to stop at the traffic light at Duportail Street at around 8:13 a.m.

The truck hit a Ford Focus turning onto the highway, then a Volkswagen Jetta stopped at a red light waiting to turn left onto Duportail.

The Jetta was pushed into a Lexus GX, also waiting at the light.

Washington State Patrol’s initial inspection report shows three of the six brakes on the trailer were not working. The truck was heading to West Richland from Pasco. The failing brakes may have contributed to the semi heading into the intersection.

The Focus’ driver, Jordan P. Collando, 23, of Richland, and the Jetta’s driver, Christina M. Hufstader, 41, of Richland, were taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center, the Washington State Patrol said.

Hufstader was treated and released. Collando’s condition is not known.

The semi’s driver and the Lexus’ driver, Jamie R. Eder, 41, of Kennewick, were not injured.

WSP cited Lopez-Varela with second-degree negligent driving.

This is the second time in the past two months a semi ran a red light in the Tri-Cities. A farm truck hauling a load of potatoes slammed into a Benton Franklin Transit bus in September. That crash was also pinned to failing brakes. In that case, most of the brakes failed.

This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Semi runs red light in Richland, leaves trail of wreckage in its wake."