2 dead in DUI crash near George
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 20 hours, 54 minutes AGO
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | August 8, 2026 10:36 PM
GEORGE — A DUI collision Saturday afternoon near George claimed two lives, according to a statement from the Washington State Patrol.
At a little after 2:30 p.m., Brayan Reyes Alvarez, 24, of Seattle was driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of Interstate 90 about seven miles west of George when he collided head-on with a vehicle driven by William E. Tomalin, 71, of Kent, according to the statement. Both vehicles came to rest on the shoulder of the westbound lane.
Yesenia Acosta Delgado, 23, and an unidentified 23-year-old woman from Tacoma, both passengers in Reyes Alvarez’s vehicle, were declared deceased at the scene, according to the statement. Neither was wearing a seat belt.
Tomalin and his passenger, Catherine M. Tomalin, also of Kent, were both treated for injuries at the scene. Reyes Alvarez was transported to Quincy Valley Medical Center. Both had been wearing seat belts.
Reyes Alvarez was found to be impaired, according to the WSP statement. Charges of vehicular homicide are pending.
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