Two dead in DUI crash near George
There was a fatal wrong-way collision on Interstate 90 west of George, Wash., on Saturday. Authorities said a suspected impaired driver traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes struck another vehicle head-on, killing two passengers and injuring three people.
COURTESY PHOTO/WASHINGTON STATE PATROL
GEORGE — A suspected wrong-way impaired driving crash on Interstate 90 west of George left two passengers dead and injured three others Saturday afternoon, according to the Washington State Patrol.
The collision occurred shortly after 2:30 p.m. about seven miles west of George when Brayan Reyes Alvarez, 24, of Seattle, was driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of I-90 and collided head-on with a vehicle driven by William E. Tomalin, 71, of Kent, the State Patrol said.
Both vehicles came to rest on the shoulder of the westbound side of the interstate.
Two passengers in Reyes Alvarez's vehicle, Yesenia Acosta Delgado, 23, and an unidentified 23-year-old Tacoma woman, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the State Patrol. Investigators said neither woman was wearing a seat belt.
Tomalin and his passenger, Catherine M. Tomalin, both of Kent, were treated for injuries at the scene. Reyes Alvarez was transported to Quincy Valley Medical Center. Authorities said both drivers were wearing seat belts.
The State Patrol said Reyes Alvarez was found to be impaired and that vehicular homicide charges are pending. As of Monday morning, Reyes Alvarez had not been booked into the Grant County Jail.
The crash is the latest in a series of wrong-way collisions that have occurred on Grant County's stretch of Interstate 90 over the years, according to Grant County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman.
"Clearly his judgment was impaired by whatever he was under the influence of, and it caused him to end up going the wrong way on an interstate highway," Foreman said.
While the sheriff's office did not investigate the crash, Foreman said the circumstances underscore the dangers of driving under the influence.
"The best advice for that is don't drive impaired," he said. "Your judgment is affected, and in this case, it appears that he was under the influence of something, it impaired his judgment, he ended up going the wrong way on the interstate freeway and went head-on with a vehicle."
Foreman said Grant County has experienced several deadly wrong-way crashes in past years, including multiple fatal collisions that occurred within a relatively short period along a similar stretch of I-90 between Warden and Moses Lake.
"If most of the time it's someone who's impaired, or many times it's someone who's impaired, the best advice is just do not drive impaired, and it reduces your risk of making bad judgments," he said.
Foreman also offered advice for motorists who encounter a wrong-way driver.
"Get out of their way any way that you can, as safely as you can," he said. "Every incident is going to be a little bit different depending on where the vehicle is."
He cautioned drivers to avoid overcorrecting or losing control of their vehicles while taking evasive action.
"If you have time to react, do it as safely as you can to get out of their way," Foreman said.
The Washington State Patrol continues to investigate the crash. Charges against Reyes Alvarez are pending.