Crime

$1,500 reward offered to find driver who left father of 3 to die on Richland highway

Rodolfo Angulo’s family is hoping for answers after he was hit and killed while walking home on Highway 240.
Rodolfo Angulo’s family is hoping for answers after he was hit and killed while walking home on Highway 240. Courtesy Maria Buxbaum

A grieving family is offering a $1,500 reward to help find the driver who killed a 41-year-old pedestrian on Highway 240.

It’s been slightly more than a month since Rodolfo Angulo died while walking on the highway along the Yakima River Delta causeway between Richland and Kennewick.

The wait to find out who left him to die has been difficult for his family, his sister Maria Buxbaum told the Herald.

She previously said the family simply wants answers about what happened to the carpenter.

“We are still struggling,” she told the Herald, adding they recently learned that more than one vehicle may have hit the father of three as he was trying to walk home.

Along with the hit-and-run reward, his family is paying to provide taxi rides for anyone who is intoxicated or in crisis, Buxbaum said. On Time Taxi is providing the rides. You can call in to 509-619-0109 and mention Rudy’s ride campaign.

Angulo was apparently in the eastbound lanes of the highway when he was struck, according to initial Washington State Patrol reports.

Another driver found Angulo in the roadway at 2:20 a.m. and called 911. He died before he could be taken to the hospital.

It’s still not clear how long he was lying there before another driver stopped.

His family is offering $1,500 for information leading to an arrest, according to a flier shared by the family. The vehicle is believed to have damage to the front bumper, hood and possibly the windshield.

Anyone with information is asked to call WSP Detective James Stairet at 509-378-2753 or email James.Stairet@wsp.wa.gov.

Angulo was one of nine children and grew up in the Tri-Cities. He was a union carpenter who recently had decided to start working with sheet metal, Buxbaum said.

He leaves behind three children, ages 21, 15 and 10. The two younger ones live with their mother in California, Buxbaum said.

This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 4:36 PM.

CP
Cameron Probert
Tri-City Herald
Cameron Probert covers breaking news for the Tri-City Herald, where he tries to answer reader questions about why police officers and firefighters are in your neighborhood. He studied communications at Washington State University.https://mycheckout.tri-cityherald.com/subscribe?ofrgp_id=394&g2i_or_o=Event&g2i_or_p=Reporter&cid=news_cta_0.99-1mo-15.99-on-article_202404
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