Separate Accidents Kill Motorist, Dump Truck Driver

Two people were killed in separate car accidents on Eastern Washington roads Monday.

A 39-year-old man died when he wrecked a dump truck near Fruitland, the Washington State Patrol reported.

In Grant County, a 23-year-old man was killed after his pickup was hit by a semi tractor-trailer near Moses Lake, deputies said.

The dump truck crash occurred about 11:40 a.m. on Peters Road, about three miles east of state Highway 25.

Richard P. Atwood of Fruitland lost control of the 1971 Ford, and it went off the road, the state patrol reported.

The truck hit a rock embankment and spun around, throwing Atwood and his 19-year-old daughter, Crystal, out of the cab.

Atwood died at the scene of massive internal injuries. His daughter, who sustained shoulder and wrist injuries, was flown by helicopter to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. She was listed in serious condition Tuesday.

In the Moses Lake wreck, Brad Leighter failed to yield the right of way at the intersection of North Frontage and N roads about 2:10 p.m., sheriff’s deputies said.

A tractor-trailer smashed into Leighter’s 1985 GMC pickup. He was thrown from his pickup and died at the scene.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, Gerardo Gonzalez, 20, of Royal City, Wash., suffered minor injuries and was treated and released from Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake.

Neither Leighter nor Gonzalez was wearing seat belts, deputies said.

, DataTimes