Mother wants justice for Kennewick student killed while crossing Interstate 182
A mother is looking for justice for her son, a Kamiakin student, who died trying to cross a busy interstate.
Belinda Vargas blames her son Ethan’s friends for getting him extremely drunk before taking his valuables and dropping him off on the side of Interstate 182 in Richland sometime early on March 12, she said in a TikTok video.
She said Ethan, 16, walked for about three hours before trying to cross the interstate near Road 100 in Pasco. He was hit when he crossed in front of westbound Cadillac shortly before 4 a.m. The impact killed him.
A blood test performed after his death found Ethan had a blood-alcohol level of 0.26 in addition to marijuana in his system, Franklin County Coroner Curtis McGary said.
While Washington State Patrol investigators have found that the Cadillac’s driver didn’t do anything wrong, there is an ongoing investigation into the circumstances around Ethan Vargas’ death, Richland police officials told the Tri-City Herald.
Since it is an active investigation, police are not sharing any information about the status.
Prosecutor Eric Eisinger told the Herald that the investigation has not been handed over to his office for review.
Ethan’s death raised several questions about what brought the teen to that stretch of highway especially at that time of the day.
On the south side of the freeway in that area is Tri-Cities Prep Catholic high school, the Broadmoor RV store and the Pasco/Tri-Cities KOA Journey Campgrounds. On the north side are car lots and other residential neighborhoods.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Chris Thorson said at the time of the crash that the Cadillac’s driver didn’t have any chance of avoiding the teen.
The 58-year-old Hanford employee told investigators that Vargas just appeared in front of him out of the dark without time for him to react.
Intoxicated and abandoned
Family members described the Kamiakin High student as a “sweet strong man who found laughter and joy in every occasion,” in a GoFundMe organized by Candie Gonzalez after the crash.
While investigators weren’t able to share what they know, Belinda Vargas blames a group of “friends” that were more interested in stealing from her son than in his well-being.
She posted at least twice in late April that she wanted justice for her son and called on people to question Richland police about why the person who gave her son alcohol isn’t facing charges.
Before the crash, Ethan left with some friends, who she believes planned to get him drunk so they could steal his belongings.
She did not name any of the people allegedly involved, but did say that the person who provided the alcohol was 22.
She said they left him on the side of the road in Richland and he walked for three hours to Pasco.
“Ethan was so intoxicated that he could barely walk,” she said. “On that night my son Ethan, he lost his life. ... These friends of his haven’t faced any consequences. They’re walking around free and my son Ethan is dead.”
In an April 23 video, she said she was told by Richland police that no charges could be brought against the people who provided her son alcohol.
She said she didn’t understand how it wasn’t a crime to leave her son extremely drunk on the side of the road, where he died.
“That’s wrong. That’s not OK. You don’t drink and then leave somebody out in the road,” she said. “We need to hold these people accountable.”
Belinda Vargas did not provide any information about where she got the details about Ethan Vargas’ death.
She has not responded to the Tri-City Herald.