Kennewick driver was headed fishing when he died. Others hurt on slick highways

A 43-year-old man was killed early Friday after losing control and crashing on Interstate 82 south of Kennewick.

Slick roads also caused numerous other crashes around the Tri-Cities.

The Washington State Patrol said the most serious happened about 6 a.m. near Coffin Road when George Mendoza of Kennewick was heading south in a Ford F150 toward Oregon. The truck slid off the highway and rolled several times.

He was not wearing his seat belt and was driving too fast for the slippery road, said the WSP.

It appears he was heading fishing at the time, said Benton County Coroner Bill Leach.

While temperatures in the Tri-Cities stayed above freezing, some rural area around the region dipped below 32 degrees overnight, leaving roads slippery.

Benton County deputies said a 34-year-old man was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center after crashing on Highway 221 south of Prosser.

Keegan T. Fennell of Tigard, Ore., wasn’t wearing his seat belt when he lost control and rolled down an embankment.

And in Franklin County, Carla Y. Mejia, 28, of Mesa, lost control of her Chevy Equinox shortly before 5 a.m. as was she was heading north on Highway 17.

Her SUV slid off the road and rolled. She was wearing a seat belt and was taken to Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco.

This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 10:18 AM.