Wrong-way driver in stolen car crashes head-on in Richland
A wrong-way driver initially being chased by the Washington State Patrol in Richland slammed head-on into another car about 2:40 a.m. Thursday.
The 19-year-old driver, Juan Bejar Cardenas of Kennewick, was arrested on suspicion of DUI, said WSP Trooper Daniel Mosqueda.
The 2018 Hyundai Elantra, with five people inside, had Florida license plates and was reported stolen, and items in the car also were stolen, Mosqueda said. Two of the passengers were Tri-Cities teens who were hospitalized.
The state patrol initially tried to stop the Hyundai when it was spotted traveling faster than the 60-mph speed limit on Highway 240 near Steptoe Street, he said.
The Hyundai took off, with the state patrol pursuing it north to the start of George Washington Way, where troopers ended the chase because of the construction zone there.
The Hyundai headed into the Richland neighborhood to the west and then got onto Interstate 182 driving the wrong direction in the eastbound lanes, Mosqueda said.
It left the interstate driving the wrong direction at the Queensgate Drive on-ramp, hitting a Ford Fiesta head-on, Mosqueda said. The Hyundai was not being pursued by WSP when it crashed into the Ford.
The driver of the Ford, Brennan R. Watts, 34, of West Richland, was taken to a Tri-Cities hospital with injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening, Mosqueda said. Kadlec said he was in satisfactory condition Thursday afternoon.
Two of the passengers in the Hyundai ran from the crash and have not been found, Mosqueda said.
Bejar Cardenas and two passengers who remained at the car were injured and taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. Their conditions were not immediately available.
One of the two passengers was a 16-year-old from Pasco whose name was withheld because he is a juvenile.
The other passenger was Andres Silva, 19, of Kennewick. The juvenile was wearing a seat belt, but Bejar Cardenas and Silva were not, according to the state patrol.
Their conditions were not immediately available.
This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 12:58 PM.