Woman dies after she was cooking inside a vehicle in Tri-Cities

A woman died Tuesday in what appears to be a cooking accident inside a parked vehicle in front of a Kennewick home, police said.

A man and woman were parked outside a home at 1118 W. Bruneau Place, when the home’s resident checked on them about 1 p.m. Tuesday, Kennewick Sgt. Stephen Wolosin told the Tri-City Herald.

The resident found the man struggling to breathe, the woman not breathing and an unconscious dog.

He called 911, pulled the people from the vehicle and began CPR.

Paramedics took the man to the hospital, Wolosin said. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

The dog was expected to recover, according to initial reports.

Investigators found signs that the couple was trying to cook some food inside the car, Wolosin said. They suspect they were overcome by carbon monoxide. The coroner’s office is investigating.

This story was originally published March 31, 2026 at 5:37 PM.