‘Deeply loved’ Ki-Be student killed in hillside crash on last day of school

A 16-year-old student at Kiona-Benton City High School was killed Friday when the pickup he was a passenger in flipped down a steep hillside south of Benton City.

Hundreds of students and community members turned out for a candlelight vigil Saturday night at the high school parking lot to remember Harlan Kelso. He died on the last day of school in the town of about 4,000 in the Lower Yakima Valley

“It was a very touching and heartfelt event,” Superintendent Pete Peterson told the Herald. “It goes to show that the community rallies around its school and its kids.”

Kelso was riding in a Toyota pickup about 7:30 p.m. Friday when the truck went off a gravel road on the McBee Grade road leading up to Chandler Butte overlooking the Horse Heaven Hills and Yakima River Valley.

The truck flipped several times and Kelso was thrown from the truck. He died at the scene, Benton County Coroner Bill Leach said.

Investigators believe he was not wearing a seatbelt.

The driver, whose name has not been released, was taken to an area hospital. Their condition was not available.

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the crash but has released no information.

Kelso’s mother Nickie shared her thanks on the Kiona Benton Bears Fan Facebook page for the outpouring of support for her son.

“Every note, every meal, every story about Harlan, every person who has shown up for our family has mattered, more than you know,” she wrote.

“There is comfort in seeing the impact our son had on the people around him. Through your words and actions, you have reminded us that Harlan was deeply loved.”