Wrong-way driver kills man on Richland highway. She took the wrong roundabout exit

A Pasco man is dead after another driver entered Highway 240 in Richland heading the wrong direction at the Steptoe Street roundabout just after midnight Saturday morning.

The wrong way driver, Katie B. Torguson, 33, of Kennewick, is accused of being drunk or intoxicated, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Troopers are investigating the crash as a vehicular homicide, according to WSP Trooper Chris Thorson.

Marshall E. Tapani, 26, of Pasco, was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, where he died, according to WSP reports.

Torguson was heading west in a Buick Rendezvous SUV in the eastbound lanes of Highway 240 when she hit the 2018 Toyota Camry driven by Tapani.

They were on the causeway south of the interchange with Interstate 182 and George Washington Way, according to the state patrol.

Torguson also was taken to Kadlec but her condition was not immediately available.

Neither driver had any passengers.

The time of the crash has been corrected in this article.

This story was originally published October 15, 2022 at 11:56 AM.