Ten injured in Mattawa-area bus collision
A collision between a bus and a semi Thursday morning left 10 people injured and shut down SR 24.
Bus-semi crash injures at least 11
MATTAWA — Ten people were injured, with nine transported to local hospitals, after a bus driver allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign and hit a semi pulling two trailers east of Mattawa early Thursday morning.
Rene Ortiz Baez, 55, Yakima, was driving the bus east on Road 24 Southwest at about 6:40 a.m. Thursday when he failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection of SR 24, according to a press memo from the Washington State Patrol. The bus hit a semi pulling two trailers driven by David Ramos-Leal, 28, Moses Lake.
The collision occurred about 12 miles east of Mattawa.
Ramos-Leal hit the bus while it was in the roadway, the WSP memo said. The bus came to rest blocking the westbound lanes, while the semi came to rest in the eastbound ditch.
Seven passengers, Maria Naranjo Pardes, 57; Cira Tlantenchi, 55; Susana Tlantenchi, 36; Hector Tlatenchi Angel, 41; Jorge Tlatenchi Angel, 35, Elia De Leon, 56, and Juan Valdez Ramirez, 28, were transported to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. Juana Vivas, 49, and Hilda Alicuanda Garcia, 53, were transported to Trios Health in Kennewick. Carlos Cocom Colli, 43, was injured but not transported, the WSP memo said. Ramos-Leal was unhurt.
An earlier report indicated that at least 11 people were injured; the WSP revised the count later in the day.
The highway was closed at about 8:30 a.m. and reopened about 2 p.m., according to information from the Washington Department of Transportation.