A portion of Interstate 90 in east Grant County was closed to through traffic Wednesday afternoon following a three-vehicle collision that killed one person and injured six others, reported the Washington State Patrol.
The wreck occurred around 2:21 p.m. about 10 miles east of Moses Lake and the roadway was not reopened until 6:30 p.m.
Troopers said 30-year-old Derek J. Duplichan of Warden was driving eastbound when he moved into the median in an attempt to pass another vehicle.
Duplichan’s 2001 Acura MDX returned to the travel lane and struck a 2014 Chevrolet Captiva driven by Brent T. Palmen, 34, Moses Lake, who was also eastbound.
The impact caused both drivers to lose control. Duplichan’s Acura came to rest in the median on the cable barriers. The Chevrolet crossed over the median into the westbound lanes and struck an oncoming 2022 Toyota Highlander driven by Kellie A. Taylor, 54, Snohomish.
Both the Chevy and the Toyota came to rest on the westbound shoulder of the freeway, according to the WSP report.
Duplichan was transported to Kadlec Hospital in the Tri-Cities, where he later died from his injuries, the report stated. It was not specified whether he was wearing a seatbelt.
The collision was caused by reckless driving, said troopers.
Palmen and Taylor sustained unspecified injuries and were transported to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake. Both were wearing seatbelts.
Also transported to Samaritan Hospital were 22-year-old Casandra C. Rand of Ritzville, a passenger in Duplichan’s Acura, and three female passengers ages 29, 7, and 5 from Moses Lake in the Chevrolet.
Two occupants in the Toyota, a 9-year-old girl and a 57-year-old man, both from Snohomish, were not hurt in the wreck. All of the passengers were wearing seatbelts.
WSP URGES ‘GOOD CHOICES’
In recent weeks, WSP has urged motorists to “make good choices behind the wheel” following “an alarming number of fatality collisions” already this summer.
In a one-week period in July, WSP troopers investigated 18 deadly crashes, including six killed in Tacoma, three motorcycle wrecks that claimed lives, and another incident in Grant County where a Royal City man was allegedly driving under the influence when he struck an oncoming car, killing all three occupants.
“What our troopers have seen over the past few days is disheartening,” WSP assistant chief James Mjor said in a July 20 news release.
WSP and the Washington Traffic Safety Commission noted that a 90-day stretch between early June and early September – when schools are typically out of session – has accounted for 31% of all traffic deaths statewide over the past five years.
And the total number of vehicle-related fatalities in Washington has jumped sharply in the past two years, increasing from 574 deaths in 2020 to 675 in 2021 and 750 last year, according to the WTSC.
Of those deadly wrecks, 23% involved alcohol-impaired drivers, another 23% were distracted drivers, and 37% involved drivers who tested positive for drugs. Excessive speed and failure to yield the right-of-way are also top contributing factors.
WSP and WTSC have mounted a traffic-safety campaign aimed at bringing attention to “the 90 most dangerous days” on Washington roadways. For information about the “Surviving Summer” campaign, visit WSP’s website.
