Update | 20-year-old Kennewick man killed in Highway 240 wreck driving stolen car
A 20-year-old man driving a stolen car is dead after crashing on Highway 240 near the main entrance to Columbia Park.
Washington State Patrol said Christopher I. Hernandez was behind the wheel of the Toyota Camry before it crashed early Tuesday.
Kennewick police had spotted the tan Camry on Edison Street with plates that didn’t match the car shortly before 3:30 a.m.
When the officer signaled the car to stop, the driver sped away, Kennewick Sgt. Chris Littrell told the Herald.
Since Washington state law currently doesn’t allow police pursuits for that kind of crime, officers shut off their lights. They did continue to follow the car at a distance.
The Camry turned east onto Highway 240 but the driver lost control, hit a berm in the median, crossing into the westbound lanes and crashed, said WSP Trooper Chris Thorson.
Kennewick police were the first to arrive but the driver had been thrown out onto the ground. Officers tried to save his life but he died at the scene, said officials.
He wasn’t wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, according to the Washington State Patrol.
The Camry had been reported stolen from Pasco earlier in the night, Littrell said.
Police are continuing to work to identify the driver, Thorson said. The man didn’t have any identification on him.
The westbound lanes of Highway 240 were closed at the junction with Highway 395 between 3:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. A detour was set up to divert traffic around the crash.
This story was originally published March 28, 2023 at 10:04 AM.