Tri-Cities mother of 4 and her boyfriend identified as Sunday’s crash victims
A Tri-Cities mother of four teen children and her boyfriend were named Tuesday as the victims of Sunday’s violent wreck in Kennewick.
Tressica Garza, 38, and Wayne Judd, 45, were driving east on Gage Boulevard when a minivan ran a red light, said Kennewick police.
The van was speeding and slammed into their SUV, killing them instantly, said police.
The minivan driver Mariana Souza, 28, told police she was racing home from a bar in Richland and remains in jail on investigation of two counts of vehicular homicide.
On Tuesday, Garza’s cousin, Natausha Burris, created a GoFundMe account to raise money for funeral expenses.
She said the Kennewick mother, who also went by Tressica A. Haynes, and Judd were dating.
“Tressica has a large family and many who loved and cared for her,” Burris wrote for the GoFundMe. “One thing for sure. I know, Tressica knew our Lord. She knew of his everlasting love and is sitting with the most high.”
Garza graduated from River View High School in Finley.
Judd’s sister, Janet, told the Herald in an email Tuesday that her brother was a hard-working man who had made some mistakes in life, but always tried to do better for his four girls.
“He absolutely loved working on the fishing boats out of Alaska and California,” she wrote about her brother, who was living in Pasco.
His death left her in shock and overwhelmed.
A GoFundMe campaign was organized to help Judd’s four daughters with funeral expenses.
“They are under prepared and overwhelmed with all of the preparations,” organizer Treannna Judd wrote. “So we welcome your prayers and help.”
Kennewick crash
Kennewick police said Garza was behind the wheel of the Ford Escape and Judd was in the front passenger seat when they drove into the Steptoe-Gage intersection about 11:15 p.m. Sunday.
Souza’s Chrysler minivan hit the driver’s side. Both were dead by the time police and firefighters arrived at the scene.
Souza reportedly told an officer she was going 50 miles per hour when the light turned red, and she didn’t have time to stop.
A witness estimated, however, she was going 75 mph in the 40 mph zone, Kennewick Officer Roman Trujillo said.
Souza was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland to be checked for minor injuries.
She smelled of alcohol and her eyes were “droopy,” so police received a warrant for a blood sample to be tested for alcohol level, and she was taken into custody for DUI.
She made her first appearance in Benton County Superior Court on Monday afternoon on a 72-hour hold.
Her bail was set at $500,000, though she was scheduled to make another appearance on Tuesday afternoon when a Portuguese-speaking interpreter could be present to translate for Souza.
The crash was one of four suspected DUI-related wrecks over the weekend in the Tri-Cities.
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 12:13 PM.