Authorities identified 73-year-old Juan Rangel Chavez, from Pasco, 58-year-old Martin D Crowe, from Kennewick, and 50-year-old Christopher M Kaltenbach, of Richland, as the victims who were injured after a wreck Wednesday near Burbank.
The three-vehicle accident took place at around 2:51 p.m. on southbound U.S. Highway 12. The preliminary reports showed that Juan Rangel Chavez, driving a pickup truck, was stopped in the left-turn lane of southbound U.S. Highway 12, waiting behind a semi-truck preparing to turn onto Dodd Road.
At some point of time, Martin D Crowe driving a pickup truck and towing a trailer, hit the back of Rangel Chavez’s vehicle and pushed it into the semi-truck driven by Christopher M Kaltenbach. Rangel Chavez was rushed to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland in serious condition.
Kaltenbach and Crowe were also taken to Kadlec in Richland. Due to the impact, Rangel Chavez was thrown from his vehicle, and that the two pickup trucks caught fire. Eastbound traffic was blocked during the cleanup. By 4:24 p.m., at least one lane of travel was open, and the whole road opened at 4:56. No other details are available.
The wreck remains under investigation.
June 17, 2022
Source: Union-Bulletin