Details emerge in fatal Ephrata-area collision

EPHRATA — The Grant County Sheriff’s Office has released the names of those involved in a fatal accident west of Ephrata Saturday morning, as well as other information about the collision.

The two people who died were Dejay E. Troupe, 23, of Spokane and Mya Kay Avila, 18 of Ephrata, according to a GCSO statement.

According to the statement, the collision occurred when a 2002 Volkswagen Jetta driven by Cesar Torivio Balderas Jr., 18, of Moses Lake failed to yield the right-of-way at the stop sign at the intersection of Baird Springs Road and Sagebrush Flats Road. The Jetta was struck in the side by a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Ryan Reinhart, 49, of Chelan. Troupe and Avila were both passengers in the Jetta, the statement said.

Also in the Jetta were Torivivo Balderas, who sustained life-threatening injuries and was flown to Confluence Health-Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee, and Fernando Leonel Padilla, 24, of Ephrata, who also sustained life-threatening injuries and was flown to Providence-Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

With Reinhart in the Silverado was a 17-year-old girl from Chelan, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata, according to the statement.

Based on evidence at the scene, intoxication on the part of Balderas may have been a factor, according to the statement. The collision is being investigated as a criminal incident. Anyone with information who has not yet spoken with investigators is asked to call 509-762-1160.