Man arrested in Thursday morning hit-and-run
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 months, 2 weeks AGO
A driver identified as 36-year-old Trino Mendez was booked into Grant County Jail Thursday after allegedly striking a county road worker with his Jeep, then leaving the scene. The Jeep’s grille, shown here, was left at the scene. The county worker was transported to Samaritan Hospital; his condition was unknown Friday morning.
COURTESY PHOTO/GCSO
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. | July 17, 2026 9:19 AM
MOSES LAKE — A suspect was taken into custody Thursday afternoon in the hit-and-run of a county road worker early Thursday morning, according to Grant County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman.
Trino Mendez, 36, whose last known address was in Victorville, California, was booked into Grant County Jail on suspicion of hit-and-run attended complicity and vehicular assault, according to the Grant County Jail roster. No bail had been set as of Friday morning.
The incident happened around 5:10 a.m. on North Frontage Road about a mile east of Dodson Road, according to the GCSO. Road crews were preparing the road for chip sealing when the worker, a 49-year-old man from Moses Lake, was struck.
“(Mendez) stopped, got out, walked over to the injured worker, and then got back in the vehicle and continued west on North Frontage Road,” Foreman said.
The vehicle’s grille, distinctively spray-painted teal and gray, was left behind at the scene, Foreman said.
GCSO deputies received information that led them to Mendez’s place of employment, Foreman said. Mendez originally gave deputies a false name but had no identification to back it up. Deputies confirmed his identity through his fingerprints, Foreman said.
The victim was transported to Samaritan Hospital, according to the statement. His condition was unknown Friday, Foreman said.
“(Being hit by a vehicle) is always a risk for any public works worker, whether it’s a local worker or a state Department of Transportation (worker),” Foreman said. “Unfortunately, many of their employees are struck by vehicles because people aren’t watching.”
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