One person is dead, and another is in critical condition after a head-on crash Sunday night in the city of Chelan.
Deputies say a 2005 Honda Accord, driven by 23-year-old Mateo Villa-Morales was traveling at a high rate of speed on SR 150 near Shop Road when it crossed the centerline and crashed head-on into a 2014 Toyota Tundra driven by a 51-year-old man from Pasco.
The Toyota Tundra was towing a large travel trailer of between 25 and 28 feet at the time of the crash at about 8 pm.
The passenger of the Honda Accord, 32-year-old Jose Morales-Rosas, was pronounced deceased at the scene while Villa-Morales was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where he is in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.
Chelan County Sheriff’s Sergeant Rob Huddleston says accidents in that area on SR 150 are highly unusual.
“I’ve worked up in the Chelan area for 25 years and I can’t remember a collision occurring right there,” said Huddleston.
The driver and four passengers in the Toyota Tundra were taken to Lake Chelan Community Hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Deputies say alcohol was a factor in the crash and Villa-Morales is being investigated for DUI, Vehicular Homicide, and Vehicular Assault.
Huddleston said there’s a process for dealing with criminal charges when the suspect is hospitalized.
“They do their thing, they get him better if he can improve,” Huddleston said. “And then when he’s released, most likely we will pick him up and book him into jail for the listed charges.”
The vehicular homicide and assault charges are felonies. Vehicular homicide in Washington state carries a penalty of between six-and-a-half years and eight-and-a-half years in Prison.