Wrong-way driver causes Hanford highway head-on

A driver needed to be pulled from the wreckage after he slammed into an oncoming vehicle on the Hanford highway Thursday.

It’s not clear why David K. Halls, 74, of Rock Island, was heading east in a Kia Sportage in the westbound lane of Highway 240 at 9:26 a.m., said the Washington State Patrol.

But as he neared the Rattlesnake barricade on the Hanford reservation about 23 miles west of Richland, he tried to avoid a pickup truck heading toward him in the westbound lane, said Trooper Daniel Munder.

The pickup driver, Troy A. Badeaux, 33, of Kennewick, tried to change lanes to avoid a collision, but Halls also changed lanes. Eventually, they ended up colliding in the eastbound lanes.

Hanford fire crews needed to pull Halls from his crushed car. Both drivers were taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center.

Badeaux was later released. Halls was transferred to Haborview Medical Center in Seattle.

This story was originally published December 28, 2017 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Wrong-way driver causes Hanford highway head-on."