Suspected drunk driver denies causing head-on that closed Highway 17 for hours
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jesse J. Flores pleaded innocent to vehicular assault and hit-and-run charges.
- Flores allegedly crashed on Highway 17, leaving Adrian Mora trapped in his car.
- Deputies reported alcohol odor and failed sobriety tests before detaining Flores.
A 30-year-old man has pleaded innocent to charges he was driving drunk when he crossed the centerline on a rural two-lane highway near Mesa, crashed into an oncoming car and then fled.
Prosecutors charged Jesse J. Flores of Pasco with vehicular assault and hit-and-run for leaving the other driver trapped in the wreckage. He’s being held in the Franklin County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.
The crash happened on Aug. 10 about 25 miles north of Pasco when Flores was driving north on Highway 17 near the Highway 395 interchange at Mesa. Highway 17 is a two-lane road that connects Franklin, Adams, Grant and Okanogan counties.
His Saturn Sports Coupe slammed into a Toyota Scion about 6:45 a.m., court documents said. The Scion driver, Adrian Mora, 22, of Othello, was left trapped in his car, while Flores is accused of walking away from the crash.
Mora was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland.
The operations chief for the Franklin County Public Hospital District 1 spotted Flores leaving the scene but couldn’t get Flores to stick around.
When a Franklin County sheriff’s sergeant caught up to Flores, he said the driver smelled strongly of alcohol. Deputies also said Flores was unsteady on his feet and failed field sobriety tests. He refused a portable breath test, according to court documents.
Investigators also found that he had a warrant on misdemeanor charges of DUI and hit-and-run, court documents said.
During his arrest, Flores asked the WSP trooper to tell the other driver that he was sorry. But he also reportedly said he wasn’t driving. At another point, Flores said that he was driving to Moses Lake from Pasco.
The crash left Highway 17 closed for several hours between Highway 395 and Pepiot Road in Mesa.
This story was originally published August 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.