3 drivers killed in 2 separate Mid-Columbia crashes

Two drivers were killed Sunday evening in a T-bone wreck on a highway south of Prosser.

Troopers say a 71-year-old man from Whidbey Island caused the crash when he failed to stop, killing himself and a 46-year-old Prosser man.

In a separate, earlier crash Sunday, a 51-year-old Adams County man died when his SUV was hit head-on by a pickup near Desert Aire.

The 21-year-old pickup driver is suspected of driving drunk or high, and will face vehicular homicide charges, according to a Washington State Patrol report.

Three Pasco residents were involved in that 12:42 a.m. collision, but were not injured.

The state patrol said Sergio N. Rodriguez Lopez of Mattawa was southbound on Highway 243 — 10 miles west of Vernita Bridge — when he tried to pass a Chevy Traverse carrying the Pasco residents.

His GMC Sierra sideswiped the SUV on the two-lane highway, then crashed into a Cadillac Escalade in the oncoming lane of traffic.

The Cadillac went down an embankment off the northbound shoulder.

Its driver, Francisco J. Novoa of Lind, was pronounced dead at the scene, the report said. He was wearing a seat belt.

Rodriguez Lopez was not wearing a seat belt and was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland.

The Chevy’s driver, Esteban Tenorio Placido, 45, and passengers Claudia Garcia Santiago, 47, and Leslie Tenorio, 18, all had their seat belts on when the SUV was sideswiped, the state patrol said.

Almost 20 hours later, troopers were called to West Sellards Road and Highway 221 — about 12 miles south of Prosser — for another deadly crash.

A state patrol report said a Clinton man was westbound on Sellards approaching 221 when he failed to stop his GMC Sonoma for highway traffic.

The GMC crashed into a Honda Accord driven by Asuncion Hernandez-Lopez. He had been traveling northbound toward Prosser.

Troopers are still trying to notify relatives of the 71-year-old Clinton man, so his name has not yet been released.

Both drivers were wearing seat belts in the 8:17 p.m. crash.

The report said it is not known if the Whidbey Island man was under the influence at the time.

The highway was closed in both directions for almost three hours while troopers cleared the scene, according to the Washington state Department of Transportation.