Update | Teen arrested in death of 3 passengers. Richland police say she was racing
Three passengers are dead and the driver is in jail after a crash on George Washington Way early Sunday morning, according to the Richland Police Department.
Detectives believe the driver, Jennifer Ana Duong, 19, of Richland, was racing another car when she lost control and slammed into a signal light pole.
Her passengers, two who were 19 years old and another who was 20, were killed immediately. Duong was treated at a hospital and then booked into the Benton County jail about 8:15 a.m.
The crash happened at 2:45 a.m. at the intersection of George Washington Way and Jadwin Avenue. The impact sheared the car in half and impaled it on the signal pole, said Richland police.
Police said that alcohol may have been a factor in the crash, based on evidence at the scene.
The names of the victims were not released to the public.
“The families of the victims have requested we not identify them at this time in order allow privacy and time to grieve,” said a news release from Richland Commander Darryl Judge.
Police initially asked for the public’s help in identifying two women in a white BMW, who had stopped to buy gas on the 1400 block of George Washington Way, and then were allegedly racing Duong’s black car.
By 4 p.m. police posted that the BMW driver and the passenger, both juveniles, had contacted police.
The violence of the collision left many Tri-Citians shaken.
“Horrific scene,” posted one person on Facebook who drove by the crash scene on his way to work. “My heart goes out to the families and first responders.”
Another who drove by in the early morning hours posted that it was the worst crash she had ever seen.
Work was being done on the signal pole that was hit, causing lane closures. Jadwin Avenue also was closed.
Another death this month
The Sunday morning crash was the second deadly crash this month on George Washington Way.
At 7 a.m. Feb. 10 a car heading south on George Washington Way crossed into the northbound lane near Comstock Street and hit a pickup.
Ernesto Moreno, 26, a passenger in the car, died. He was from Walla Walla.
This story was originally published February 27, 2022 at 7:34 AM.