Tuesday, August 18, 2026
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Man hit by bus near Gorge Amphitheatre

CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 hours, 55 minutes AGO
by CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | August 17, 2026 5:33 PM

QUINCY — A Spokane Valley man was airlifted to an out-of-area hospital after he was struck by a bus near the Gorge Amphitheatre early Friday morning.

Alexis Morga-Sevilla, 29, was hit by the bus after he stepped into the road at about 1:30 a.m. Friday, said Kyle Foreman, public information officer for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. 

Morga-Sevilla was walking near Silica Road and Sagecliff Road Northwest, Foreman said, and was wearing dark clothing at the time of the incident.

“The bus was a shuttle bus that moves between Wild Horse Campground and the Gorge venue itself, moving concertgoers,” Foreman said. 

The bus was driven by Mark Wanke, 69, of Ephrata. 

The case is still under investigation, Foreman said.

ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER

August 17, 2026 5:33 p.m.

Man hit by bus near Gorge Amphitheatre

QUINCY — A Spokane Valley man was airlifted to an out-of-area hospital after he was struck by a bus near the Gorge Amphitheatre early Friday morning. Alexis Morga-Sevilla, 29, was hit by the bus after he stepped into the road at about 1:30 a.m. Friday, said Kyle Foreman, public information officer for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. Morga-Sevilla was walking near Silica Road and Sagecliff Road Northwest, Foreman said, and was wearing dark clothing at the time of the incident.

Day of preparation before the Grant County Fair opens
August 18, 2026 3:20 a.m.

Day of preparation before the Grant County Fair opens

MOSES LAKE — For the volunteers at the Covenant Christian School booth, the Grant County Fair started with a lesson in how to make smoothies. The fair starts today, and CCS students, staff and parent volunteers are running the fruit smoothie booth as a school fundraiser. Monday was the day to set up the displays, booths and tents, house the animals, enter exhibits and generally clean up those spaces that are used sparingly during the rest of the year. The booth was packed with parents, staff and CCS elementary and high school students. Principal Desiree Sept said CCS does use a lot of its equipment year-round, but a test run is never a bad idea.

Gorge death under investigation as controlled substance homicide
August 17, 2026 5:02 p.m.

Gorge death under investigation as controlled substance homicide

MOSES LAKE — The death of an Olympia man at the Gorge Amphitheater over the weekend is being investigated as a controlled substance homicide. A Seattle man was arrested on controlled substance distribution charges in connection with the case. Quincy Travers, 28, was booked into the Grant County Jail on suspicion of one count of delivery of a controlled substance and three counts of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, said Kyle Foreman, public information officer for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, in a media release. Travers was identified by witnesses as the man who sold the victim the drugs, Foreman said. “Cocaine was the drug,” Foreman told the Columbia Basin Herald in a separate interview. “Whether the dose, or amount, he was using was too strong or whether he used too much, I don’t know.”