Accidents mar holiday weekend
Nine people are injured
COLUMBIA BASIN — Four holiday weekend accidents on Grant County roads resulted in nine people injured.
The Washington State Patrol reported a busy Christmas weekend writing tickets and responding to accidents on state highways. Three accidents took place on Friday and an additional crash happened on Dec. 24. Weather conditions contributed to two of the wrecks, according to the state patrol.
On Friday, at 4:47 p.m., Gonzalo Guerrero Diaz, 19, Ephrata, stopped his 1988 Oldsmobile on state Route 28 to turn onto Road K, six miles east of Ephrata, when Betty J. Pitts, 75, Ephrata, reportedly rear-ended Diaz with her 1998 Ford pickup, according to the state.
Pitts was cited for following too close and was transported to Quincy to treat a dislocated leg, according to the patrol. Diaz was cited for driving without a valid operator's license.
The second accident took place at 10:07 p.m. when Jorge David Jiminez, 29, Monroe, was driving southbound on state Route 281, about three miles south of Quincy. He reportedly lost control of his 2006 Ford pickup on black ice, leaving the roadway, flipping and rolling the truck until it landed on its top, according to the state patrol.
Three passengers in the truck were reportedly injured and transported to Quincy for treatment.
Jiminez was cited for driving too fast for conditions, according to the state patrol.
A third accident was reported at the same time as Jiminez rolling his truck. Paul Cohens Reco, 36, Henderson, Nev., received a broken collarbone after allegedly attempting to pass a semi-truck on state Route 281, six miles south of Quincy, and losing control, rolling his 2006 Ford Explorer.
Reco's 33-year-old female passenger was transported to Quincy for reported back and neck pain, according to the state. Reco was cited for driving too fast for conditions.
A 1993 Plymouth traveling west on North Lake Road struck a 1993 Subaru station wagon while it was crossing the road on state Route 17, seven miles north of Moses Lake, the day before Christmas, reports the state.
Marijan Bosnar, 60, Moses Lake, was cited for failing to yield the right of way to the Subaru. The state patrol reports three people riding in the Subaru were possibly injured and all were transported to Samaritan Hospital for treatment of neck, chest and back injuries.