Semi collides with SUV on Dodson near Royal City

ROYAL CITY - Two people from Royal City were injured, one critically, after an SUV crashed into a semi-truck Friday, September 9, about nine miles northeast of Royal City.

Jesus Villa, 24, was driving a 2002 Toyota Sequoia southbound on Dodson Road South at about 2:30 p.m. when he reportedly fell asleep, according to the Grant County Sheriff's Office.

Villa crossed the center line and collided head-on with a 2000 Peterbilt truck, which was hauling a 53-foot trailer loaded with potatoes, the report stated.

The front of the semi-truck caught fire and was destroyed.

The truck driver, Rafael Aguilar Robles, 37, Quincy, was able to escape the fire and was uninjured.

Villa had to be cut out of the car by Grant County Fire District 10 firefighters and the Grant County Fire District 5 Technical Rescue Team. He was airlifted from the crash scene via MedStar to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee and later flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with reported serious internal injuries and broken limbs.

Villa's passenger, Bernice Guzman, 24, reportedly suffered neck injuries and was transported by ambulance to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake.

The Sequoia was totaled in the crash, which blocked both lanes of traffic on Dodson Road for several hours.

An investigation continues.