News bites for Dec. 5, 2023

VANTAGE — A 79-year-old woman died Friday in a collision with a semi on SR 26 near the junction with SR 243, according to a statement from the Washington State Patrol.

Judy M. Coluccio of Auburn was driving a 2014 Chrysler minivan west on SR 26 at about 6:45 when she crossed the center line and collided head-on with a 2013 semi driven by Jose M. Avitia Sillas, 40, of Pasco, the WSP wrote. The minivan came to rest perpendicular in the westbound lane and the semi came to rest in the eastbound lane.

Coluccio was declared dead at the scene, according to the statement. Avitia Sillas was unhurt. SR 26 was closed due to the collision and reopened around midnight. It was unknown whether Coluccio was wearing a seat belt, or whether drugs or alcohol was a factor in the incident. The cause of the collision is under investigation.

WARDEN — A collision Monday morning near Warden claimed the life of a 9-year-old Othello child and left three other people hospitalized, according to a statement from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

The collision occurred at Road U and Road 12 Southeast, south of Warden, according to a post on the Grant County Sheriff’s Office social media. The collision was reported at about 7 a.m.

The vehicle was traveling north on Road U, driven by the child’s mother, a 37-year-old from Othello with cruise control engaged, the GCSO post said. The driver hit a patch of ice and lost control. The vehicle rolled and the 9-year-old child was ejected. The child was not wearing a seatbelt. 

The child’s mother delivered CPR; first responders took over a short time later.

“Despite the efforts, the 9-year-old died at the scene,” the GCSO post said.

The driver and two other children in the vehicle, ages 10 and 7, sustained non-life-threatening injuries. All three were wearing seatbelts.

The Columbia Basin Herald has chosen not to post the child’s or mother’s name out of respect for the family’s loss. 

RITZVILLE — A vehicle stolen in Montana was recovered in Ritzville Friday, according to a statement from the Ritzville Police Department.

At about 5:15 p.m., the RPD received a report from the Kalispell, Montana Police Department that a 2022 Toyota Ray stolen in Kalispell was parked at Love’s Truck Stop in Ritzville, according to the statement. Officers located the vehicle, which was occupied by Josh Cislo, 37, of Kalispell. Officers arrested Cislo and booked him at the Adams County Jail for possession of stolen property.

Cislo had been previously convicted of drug conspiracy in 2018 in connection with a drug trafficking ring in Kodiak, Alaska, according to a statement from the  U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Alaska. At that time he was sentenced to two years in prison followed by three years’ supervised release, the statement said.