Twelve injured when van, semi collide in south Grant County
WSP: van driver failed to stop at highway intersection.
Updated
MATTAWA — Twelve people were injured Thursday morning, Oct. 22, in a two-vehicle collision after a driver failed to stop at a marked highway intersection in south Grant County, reported the Washington State Patrol.
The wreck was reported at 6:37 a.m. on State Route 24, about 12 miles east of Mattawa.
Troopers said Rene Ortiz Baez, 55, of Yakima, was driving south on Road 24-SW in a 2010 Ford transport van carrying 13 passengers and did not stop before entering the intersection. The van was struck by a 2021 Volvo semi with two tanker trailers driven by 28-year-old David Ramos-Leal of Moses Lake, who was westbound on the highway.
The van came to rest blocking the westbound lanes; the semi stopped in the eastbound roadside ditch.
Both drivers and one passenger in the van escaped injury. Two other van passengers received minor injuries but did not require medical transport. The other 10 passengers sustained unspecified injuries and were transported to hospitals in the Tri-Cities, the WSP report said.
Ramos-Leal was wearing a seat belt; all of the van occupants were unbelted.
Troopers said charges are pending against Ortiz Baez, but no alcohol or drugs were involved in the incident.
Both the van and the semi were totaled; the tanker trailers received nonreportable damage.
The highway was closed for several hours in both directions with traffic detoured onto local roads. State Route 24 is a main transportation corridor between Othello and the SR 240-243 junction just south of the Vernita Bridge on the Columbia River.
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Twelve injured when van, semi collide in south Grant County
WSP: van driver failed to stop at highway intersection.
MATTAWA — Twelve people were injured Thursday morning, Oct. 22, in a two-vehicle collision after a driver failed to stop at a marked highway intersection in south Grant County, reported the Washington State Patrol.
The wreck was reported at 6:37 a.m. on State Route 24, about 12 miles east of Mattawa.
Troopers said Rene Ortiz Baez, 55, of Yakima, was driving south on Road 24-SW in a 2010 Ford transport van carrying 13 passengers and did not stop before entering the intersection. The van was struck by a 2021 Volvo semi with two tanker trailers driven by 28-year-old David Ramos-Leal of Moses Lake, who was westbound on the highway.
The van came to rest blocking the westbound lanes; the semi stopped in the eastbound roadside ditch.
Both drivers and one passenger in the van escaped injury. Two other van passengers received minor injuries but did not require medical transport. The other 10 passengers sustained unspecified injuries and were transported to hospitals in the Tri-Cities, the WSP report said.
Ramos-Leal was wearing a seat belt; all of the van occupants were unbelted.
Troopers said charges are pending against Ortiz Baez, but no alcohol or drugs were involved in the incident.
Both the van and the semi were totaled; the tanker trailers received nonreportable damage.
The highway was closed for several hours in both directions with traffic detoured onto local roads. State Route 24 is a main transportation corridor between Othello and the SR 240-243 junction just south of the Vernita Bridge on the Columbia River.