Pasco man part of three-truck, one-car pileup

A Pasco man survived rolling a semi-truck off Interstate 82 during a three-truck, one-car pileup Wednesday morning.

Erik V. Guzman, 27, was driving a blue 2009 Freightliner semi-truck and trailer west and struck a white 2014 Freightliner semi-truck trailer as part of a three-truck, one-car pileup at 6:45 a.m., according to the Washington State Patrol. The collisions were east of Granger.

Guzman’s truck left the highway and rolled. He was injured and sent to Sunnyside Community Hospital.

The pileup began with Miguel Cortes, 68, of Sunnyside, driving slower than traffic in a tan 2006 Kia Spectra.

His car was struck by Jose Rodriguez, 45, of Las Vegas, driving the white 2014 Freightliner semi-truck and trailer, the state patrol said. His rig was hit by Guzman. His passenger, Zulemo O. Rodriguez, 46, of Ventura, Calif., was a passenger and injured during the collision.

A white 2016 Freightliner, driven by Michael W. Jenkins, 52, of Tucson, Ariz., was the third semi-truck and trailer combination in the collision and struck the other white Freightliner truck.

Cortes, Rodriguez and Jenkins were injured and taken to local hospitals.

The highway was closed for hours to accommodate emergency service crews and an investigation.

The state patrol said the collisions were caused by people driving too fast for conditions and issued tickets. The agency did not list which drivers were cited.

This story was originally published February 15, 2017 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Pasco man part of three-truck, one-car pileup."