Moses Lake woman killed in Tuesday night accident

MOSES LAKE - A Moses Lake woman was killed when the car she was riding in was hit on the passenger side Tuesday night.

Monica Gonzalez, 33, was killed at the intersection of state Route 283 and Road 9 Northwest, about six miles south of Ephrata, according to a press release from the Washington State Patrol. The accident occurred about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday. The WSP press release said she was not wearing a seatbelt.

Gonzalez was the passenger in a car driven by Andrew Gilbert, 38, Moses Lake. Gilbert was stopped at the stop sign at Road 9 Northwest, the WSP memo said, and pulled out in front of a car driven by Kelly Riggs, 54, Ephrata. Riggs was driving north on SR-283.

Riggs’ vehicle hit Gilbert’s vehicle on the passenger side; Gilbert’s vehicle came to a rest in the northbound ditch.

Gilbert was transported to Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata as a precaution, the press release said. Riggs also was transported as a precaution. So were her passengers, Eugene Riggs, 56, Ephrata; Kimberly Riggs, 51, Ephrata; Ellen Glenn, 76, Ephrata, a 14-year-old boy and a three-year-old boy.

The WSP memo cited the cause as Gilbert failing to yield the right of way. Charges are pending against him, the memo said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.