Toppenish man driving in wrong lane killed in crash


Yakima Herald-Republic

GRANGER, Wash. -- A 21-year-old Toppenish man was killed early Saturday morning when his car struck another vehicle head-on about a half mile east of Granger.

The driver of the other car was injured in the accident, which took place around 1:30 a.m. on Van Belle Road, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Raul Tapia-Cardenas was driving west in the eastbound lane in his 1999 Honda Accord when he collided with a 2003 Honda Accord driven by Jesus A. Mendoza, 22, of Outlook, according to the state patrol.

A Chevrolet pickup driven by Ramon Madriz-Guizar, 23, of Outlook, then struck Mendoza’s car and a concrete barrier, according to the state patrol.

Tapia-Cardenas was taken to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, where he was declared dead. Mendoza was also taken to Memorial. Following surgery, he was listed in good condition, according to a nursing supervisor at Memorial.

Madriz-Guizar was not injured.

All drivers were wearing seat belts, according to the state patrol. It was unknown whether drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident, which remains under investigation.



Commentsicon2
Posted by aamodtdb at 11/08/09 06:29AM        Post ID#: #17405

The Yakima Herald Republic tells us if these people were wearing seatbelts...poses the question that drugs or alcohol might be involved...however, again the newspaper drops the ball by failing to tell us if any of the three vehicles had proper minimal liability insurance.

If these three drivers are part of the 20% state-wide that lack minimal liability insurance, this should be noted is this story, as IT IS NEWSWORTHY!!!

If they had no insurance, they had no business driving in the first place.

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Posted by bigpapad at 11/09/09 06:14AM        Post ID#: #17507

aamodtdb, do you sell insurance because you sure act like it the way you want to rule with the iron fist. I agree we have a problem with uninsured but your comments when families are dealing with deaths in there families is a lack of class. The more laws we have on enforcement of insurance the more the companies can raise there prices. Which if you sell insurance you would have no problem with. My prayers go out to the families, white , hispanic, or other, for their loss.

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Posted by WoW at 11/09/09 05:29PM        Post ID#: #17566

This is what happens when people try to act cool and risk other people's lives just because they want to race. I feel awfully bad for their family.

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