21-year-old with a ‘love for life, rodeo’ dies in weekend crash near Tri-Cities park
Loved ones of a 2019 River View High School graduate, who died in a weekend rollover, have started a fundraiser and set up a memorial at the crash site.
Bryanna L. Campbell, 21, has been identified as the woman who died in the early Saturday wreck near Hover Park in Finley.
Benton County Coroner Bill Leach confirmed her name, adding that his office will not be doing an autopsy since it is obvious Campbell died as a result of injuries from the crash.
There were three people inside the 2004 Ford F250 when it rolled just after 1 a.m., according to Benton County sheriff’s Lt. Jason Erickson.
None were wearing seat belts.
The driver, Jacob M. Reed, initially was taken to Trios Southridge Hospital in Kennewick, then flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Erickson told the Tri-City Herald on Monday that the 20-year-old Iowa man has had multiple surgeries since Saturday and remains in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
The third occupant — whose name has not been released — was thrown from the car, but was not injured. He was transported to a Tri-City hospital to be checked out, then released a short time later, said Erickson.
Deputies on the scene that night “developed probable cause for vehicular homicide” based on their initial investigation and review with prosecutors, he said.
However, authorities are not yet pursuing charges against Reed because of his medical condition.
A Facebook post Saturday by the sheriff’s office said Reed had been driving recklessly by spinning tires and racing back and forth on Toothaker Road.
Campbell was at the park with friends and “got in the truck with Reed against the pleadings from her friends,” the post says.
Reed then sped off toward South Meals Road. The truck ended up sliding sideways, went off the road into a ditch and rolled in front of a few houses.
Several bouquets of flowers had been placed near the crash site by Monday morning.
Nearby was evidence of the deadly rollover, including a rear view mirror, the shattered front windshield and other items that had been inside the Ford.
A family member also started a GoFundMe account for Campbell’s family, with an initial goal of $10,000.
“I’ll be honest in saying, I don’t know how to start, or where to begin. Our beloved Bryanna was in a horrible accident, an unexpected fatality, that took her away from us,” wrote Lenora Puckett-Goins. “There are no words to describe the pain our family (is) feeling in these moments.”
“Bryanna was a bright and beautiful young woman. She had passions and dreams. She was taken far, far, far too soon,” she continued.
“Please find it in your heart to help her family ... a staple of our Kennewick/Finley families. Bryanna was, and will forever, be known as a pillar of our community.”
Puckett-Goins also commented on the sheriff’s office’s Facebook post that Campbell was a “beautiful soul,” and that her “love for life, rodeo and this world was beyond words.”
This story was originally published February 14, 2022 at 12:56 PM.