3 killed in head-on crash on foggy valley highway near Sunnyside

A Sunnyside couple in their 70s and a friend were killed after two pickup trucks collided on a foggy highway Friday.

The crash happened near the intersection of the Yakima Valley Highway and Dekker Road at 1:17 p.m., the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office said in a Tuesday news release.

Investigators say that Usbaldo Santillan, 32, of Toppenish, was headed west on the Yakima Valley Highway when his 2014 Chevy pickup crossed into the eastbound lanes.

His truck slammed into the front of a 1996 Chevy driven by Leonard Wallingford, 72, just west of the intersection with Dekker Road.

The impact was on the eastbound fog line, said the release.

When emergency crews arrived, they found the Santillan’s truck had started to burn but the fire was put out by a passerby with an extinguisher.

Wallingford and his wife, Yolanda Martinez, 72, died in the crash. Their friend Carlos Soliman, 64, also of Sunnyside, was severely injured and died at a Yakima hospital about 10 p.m.

Santillan sufferd minor injuries and was taken to the hospital in Toppenish by a family member.

Everyone was wearing seat belts, said officials.

Investigators say intoxicants are not believed to be a factor in the collision.

And while it was foggy at the time, visibility was over two blocks and was not a factor, said the release.

The collision is being investigated by the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Unit.