Grandfather dies after semi truck veers off highway south of Prosser and flips
A Ritzville semi driver is dead and a Pasco man was hurt in a pair of wrecks Tuesday.
Thomas J. Pattock, 64, of Ritzville, was hauling a trailer full of soda north on Highway 221 when he drove off the road about a mile north of Paterson.
The tractor and trailer flipped and he was thrown out of the truck despite wearing a seat belt, the Washington State Patrol said.
He was pinned in the wreckage and died at the scene, said troopers. He was found just after 5 p.m.
The state patrol is still investigating what caused him to drive off the two-lane highway between Paterson and Prosser in south Benton County.
The father of three was also a grandfather and worked for Knight Transportation, according to his Facebook page.
Kennewick crash
Later on Tuesday, an intoxicated Pasco driver ended up in the hospital after rolling his SUV on Highway 240.
Angus M. Tate, 29, was heading east in a Ford Explorer when he went off the road shortly after 8:30 p.m. near the Edison Street exit, the Washington State Patrol said.
The SUV ended up in the median. He was treated to Trios Southridge Hospital.
The WSP said charges are pending.
Tate was convicted in 2012 of attempted robbery linked at the time to a heroin addiction, according to court records.