Washington State Patrol reports fatal crash in Whitman County

A crash involving a semi truck and two cars killed one person early Thursday in Whitman County, the Washington State Patrol reported.

The crash happened at about 3 a.m. on Highway 195 about three miles north of Steptoe and the road was closed until early Thursday afternoon. The Washington State Patrol reports that a car driven by Bikash Sigdel, 24, of Moscow, was going northbound when Sigdel lost control and swerved into the southbound lane in front of a semi driven by James H. Smith, 54, of Hayden.

Smith’s semi hit Sigdel’s car, then crossed the road and hit a car driven by 21-year-old Kayli J. Lynch of New Mexico that was parked on the northbound shoulder.

Sigdel had three passengers in his 2003 Toyota Corolla. One of those passengers, 21-year-old Mamta Kandel of Moscow, died at the scene. The two other passengers, 29-year-old Basu D. Kafle and 21-year-old Sumit Shahi, were both taken to Providence Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane along with Sigdel.

Smith was uninjured, as were Lynch and the two passengers in her car, 22-year-old Abiline Gallegos of Pullman and 23-year-old Adriana A. Alire of New Mexico.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. No decision on possible criminal charges has been made, the WSP said.