Kennewick police detective causes Highway 395 crash that injured a Pasco woman

Investigators say a Kennewick officer may have been at fault when she drove through an intersection rushing to an emergency and was T-boned by another car.

The crash happened just after 9 p.m. Tuesday night at the intersection of Highway 395 and Kennewick Avenue, said the Washington State Patrol.

Kennewick Detective Liz Grant was heading east on Kennewick Avenue in an unmarked 2013 Ford Explorer with her lights and sirens on when she failed to yield to the cross traffic, said the WSP.

Her SUV was hit by a Hyundai Santa Fe driven by Linda J. Chapman, 60, of Pasco.

State law requires officers to “drive with due regard for the safety of all persons.”

This includes slowing to make sure cross traffic is stopping if the officer’s entering an intersection with lights activated.

Investigators are trying to determine if Grant slowed at the intersection before being hit, Trooper Chris Thorson said.

Chapman was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center and her condition was not immediately available. Grant was not hurt.

This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 10:25 AM.