Suspected drunk driver kills toddler and woman in wrong-way I-182 crash in Pasco

A toddler and woman are dead after a car driving the wrong direction on Interstate 182 slammed head on into the car they were riding in Friday evening, according to the Washington State Patrol.

A 6-year-old boy and the driver of the car that was hit survived, but the boy was has been declared brain dead, WSP Trooper Sarah Clasen told the Tri-City Herald Saturday.

Charges against Zachary N. Schwartz, 37, of Yakima, are pending after he drove eastbound in the westbound lanes of I-182 in Pasco.

Clasen said Schwartz is still at Kadlec as of Saturday afternoon, recovering from surgery for a broken arm. He will be arrested and booked into the Benton County Jail on suspicion of two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of driving under the influence once he is released from the hospital.

Clasen expects a third vehicular homicide charge to be added once the 6-year-old is removed from life support.

Schwartz’s black Ford Mustang hit a gray Honda Civic driven by Rodrigo Torres-Gonzalez, 42, of Pasco, between North Fourth Avenue and Highway 395 about 5:30 p.m. according to WSP.

Two of the passengers in the Honda, Guadalupe Vergara Gonzalez, 39, of Pasco, and a boy who would have turned 2 in two months, died before they could be taken to a hospital.

The 6 year old in the Honda was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, and its driver, Torres-Gonzalez, was taken to Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco.

Everyone involved was wearing seat belts or in car seats, according to WSP.

The westbound lanes of the interstate were blocked and traffic was diverted onto southbound Highway 397 until the interstate reopened at about 10:45 p.m., according to the Washington state Department of Transportation.

This story was originally published December 28, 2024 at 8:16 AM.