5-car pileup snarls blue bridge commute
A five-car pileup on the blue bridge Tuesday morning injuring one man and clogged the morning commute into Pasco.
Hours earlier a sleepy Richland driver crashed on Highway 395 north of Pasco, sending two people to the hospital.
The bridge collision happened shortly before 7 a.m. when Julio G. Hernandez Palma, 47, of Kennewick, lost control of his Toyota Corolla, said the Washington State Patrol.
His car bounced off the concrete barrier on the right side of the northbound lanes and crossed to the other side, where he hit the other barrier.
Four cars behind him then crashed into each other, blocking the northbound lanes.
Hernandez Palma was taken to Trios Southridge Hospital. No one else was hurt.
State troopers said he wasn’t paying attention and cited him for negligent driving.
Six hours earlier, Sandra L. Munguia, 42, flipped her car after falling asleep while driving south on Highway 395 north of Pasco.
Munguia nodded off behind the wheel of a Chevy Cavalier shortly before 1 a.m., said the WSP.
The car went off the road, rolled and landed on its top.
Munguia and her passenger Antonio C. Munguia, 56, of Richland, were treated at Lourdes Medical Center and later released. She was also also cited for negligent driving.
This story was originally published January 8, 2019 at 8:41 AM.