Tri-Cities sees 4 DUI crashes in two days, leaving 2 people dead
Kennewick’s fatal crash late Sunday was one of five suspected drunk driving arrests in the Tri-Cities over the weekend.
Alcohol played a role in four wrecks, including the violent collision that killed two people late Sunday at Steptoe Street and West Gage Boulevard, say investigators.
A 28-year-old woman is being held at the Benton County jail on suspicion of vehicular homicide in connection with the double fatality at the Kennewick intersection.
One witness told Kennewick police that Mariana Souza was driving about 75 miles per hour south on Steptoe when she missed the red light and slammed into a SUV in the intersection, said Officer Roman Trujillo.
Souza was driving a minivan.
The two victims apparently died instantly in the crash just after 11:15 p.m., and Souza was arrested for DUI, said police.
Kennewick police and Benton coroner officials were working Monday to find and notify the families of the people who died before releasing their names.
Souza was being held on suspicion of two counts of vehicular homicide.
Other crashes
Earlier on Saturday and Sunday, there were three more DUI-related crashes, say investigators.
The first happened just before 1:45 a.m. Saturday when Wendy L. Trujillo Soto, 35, of Boardman, Ore., failed to stop at the light at the intersection of 10th Avenue and Highway 395, the Washington State Patrol said in a media release.
Her Dodge Charger hit a Chrysler minivan in the intersection.
Trujillo Soto, who was the only one not wearing a seat belt, and the minivan driver, Eric A. Boswell, 24, of Pasco, were taken to Trios Southridge Hospital.
Two passengers in the Charger were not hurt.
Then shortly before 7:30 p.m. Saturday, when a 21-year-old man crashed his sedan on Johnson Road just outside Prosser, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office reported.
The car smashed into a mailbox, and the driver was taken to the Benton County jail. His name was not released.
Sometime later in the night, Benton County deputies found a 24-year-old driver slumped over the wheel in a SUV, according to Facebook post.
The SUV was still running and stopped in the middle of the street and the driver, whose name was not released, was arrested for DUI.
Another drunk driver was blamed for a three-vehicle crash at the intersection of Fruitland Street and Columbia Drive at 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
One of the other drivers was treated at Trios Southridge Hospital for minor injuries.
One driver, whose name was not released, was arrested for DUI, said police.
Uptick in DUIs
Benton County sheriff’s Lt. Jason Erickson said the Tri-Cities has seen an uptick in the number of alcohol- and drug-related crashes in the Tri-Cities.
He said it’s not clear what is causing it.
“People need to be responsible and have a designated driver or call a taxi or an Uber or Lyft,” he said.
According to a 2019 Washington Traffic Safety Commission report, impaired driving is the greatest single factor contributing to fatal crashes.
Even with numerous laws targeting drunk driving, the number of deaths have remained constant.
The commission reports that about half of the fatal crashes in Washington state are linked to impaired driving with an average of 149 people dying each summer.
This story was originally published April 4, 2022 at 12:53 PM.