Six die in Eastern Washington car crashes

Six people died Thursday in several Eastern Washington car crashes.

Gabriel L. Johnson, 20, of Spokane Valley, was driving a 2003 Buick Century east on Interstate 90 just east of Ritzville when his car left the road, went over a guard rail and hit a bridge support about 4:50 a.m., according to the Washington State Patrol. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

His passengers, both from Spokane, Mary C. Werts, 21, and Trevor L. Hallman-Person, 19, also died. Johnson and Hallman-Person were wearing seat belts; Werts was not.

Werts graduated from Gonzaga Prep in 2011. Hallman-Person attended Rogers and Lewis and Clark high schools. Johnson grew up in Bremerton.

Later Thursday, a Kettle Falls man died in a two-vehicle accident on U.S. Highway 395 just outside his hometown. Jay Pratt, 34, was driving his 2003 Kia Rio north around 5:20 a.m. and crossed the center lane, hitting a 2010 Subaru Forester driven by Debra Lindberg, 59, of Kettle Falls.

Pratt was killed in the accident. Lindberg was injured and taken to a hospital in Colville.

Just before noon, two cars crashed on U.S. Highway 195 at Cheney-Spokane Road. Renard A. Faraca, 96, died at the scene in his 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. Faraca failed to yield to oncoming traffic and pulled out in front of a southbound 2014 Lexus LS460 driven by Eric A. Sohn, of Spokane, according to the WSP. Sohn, 45, was not injured.

And shortly after 3:30 p.m., a car driven by Oren E. Pillers, of Colfax, crashed on state Route 127 south of Dusty in Whitman County. Pillers, 84, drove his 1996 Dodge Neon onto the shoulder, overcorrected and lost control, according to the WSP. He died when his car left the road and struck an object.