Police see alarming rash of drunk and impaired Tri-Cities drivers over Labor Day weekend
Drivers high on drugs or drunk slammed into bridges and homes and careened across lawns in alarming numbers over the Labor Day weekend.
Law enforcement officials in Benton and Franklin counties booked 18 drivers into jail for DUI between Friday and Monday.
The Washington State Patrol alone arrested eight drunk drivers across the Tri-Cities area, including part of Walla Walla County, Trooper Chris Thorson told the Tri-City Herald. That was up from six arrested during the same time last year.
One of the most serious was a 39-year-old semi truck driver hauling an excavator that hit a Highway 12 overpass near Burbank, southeast of Pasco.
The excavator was too tall and damaged some of the concrete and a highway sign when it hit the overpass about 7 p.m. Sunday, said Thorson.
Washington State Department of Transportation inspectors checked out the condition of the bridge on Wednesday and are still evaluating what repairs will be necessary, said spokeswoman Meagan Lott. The shoulder of the road across the overpass is closed, but the sidewalk remains open, she said.
The driver, Oscar Caldera-Gurrola was arrested for DUI.
Other crashes and arrests involved incidents in Benton City, rural Benton County and Richland, where a man was found passed out behind the wheel with drugs, a gun and $13,000 in cash, said police.
Other Tri-Cities area crashes
- The first crash in Benton County was early Saturday when a suspected drunk driver lost control of his car in the area of Locust Grove Road and South Glenn Miller PR Southeast. The rollover sent his passenger to the hospital, according to a sheriff’s office Facebook post. It’s not clear how serious the injuries were.
- On Monday, Benton County deputies were investigating a 911 call made by an unknown person near the 1100 block of Horne Drive. As deputies approached a parked car, the driver pulled away the wrong direction on Horne Drive. They said they tried to stop her, but she sped up and was driving erratically.
The woman lost control on a corner and crashed into an unoccupied building.
The woman, whose name was not released, needed to be extricated from the crushed car. Deputies said she showed signs of being under the influence of drugs and she was taken to a hospital.
- About 10:45 p.m. Monday, a pickup truck landed in an irrigation canal on the 3600 block of South Gum Street, said Kennewick police. Officers found the driver, Antonio Burnett-Camacho, 29, nearby. He was not hurt and was booked into the Benton County jail on suspicion of DUI.
- At 11 p.m. Monday, a suspected drunk driver lost control of his car near South Nine Canyon Road just south of Highway 397 near Finley. The car crashed into a ditch. The two people inside suffered minor injuries, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.
Drugs, gun and cash
Richland police and paramedics were called to check on a black Mercedes and drive at the corner of Douglass Avenue and Gillespie Street about 6:20 a.m. Friday.
Ricardo Castellanos, 48, was passed out in the car and they had trouble waking him up. Richland police Officer Eduardo Martinez said they believed the Pasco man was under the influence of fentanyl.
Inside the car, they discovered two bags of meth, individually wrapped bags of marijuana and also fentanyl, said officers. He also had about $1,600 in cash.
A further search of the car turned up two wads of U.S. currency, as well as a loaded .40 caliber pistol.
In all, police seized $13,000.