Alleged drunk truck driver hauling pizza pockets accused of hit-and-run on I-82

A drunk semi driver crashed into a car on Interstate 82 Thursday morning and then tried to flee, say investigators.

Girrod Simmons, 32, from South Carolina, was heading west on the interstate to Puyallup with a half-load of pizza pockets about 5:30 a.m., Washington State Patrol Trooper Chris Thorson told the Herald.

As Simmons neared Locust Grove Road south of Kennewick, his semi hit the rear of a Honda heading in the same direction.

After crushing the trunk of the car, Simmons sped away, said Thorson. The driver called troopers, who stopped the truck about 10 miles down the highway near Dallas Road.

The woman driving the Honda was bruised, but not seriously hurt.

When troopers stopped Simmons, he tried telling them that he had only hit a deer.

Initial tests showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent He was booked into the Benton County jail for DUI and hit-and-run driving.

It’s rare to find professional truck drivers driving drunk, Thorson said. They face much higher restrictions for intoxication. By federal law, the blood-alcohol level considered impaired is 0.04 percent.

The truck, which came from Illinois, was impounded and is being held until the owner to can retrieve it, he said.

This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 10:49 AM.