Richland, WA (June 19, 2026) — A woman was killed and a passenger in her vehicle was injured Friday night after a semi-truck allegedly ran a red light and struck their car on State Route 240. According to the Washington State Patrol, the semi was traveling west on SR-240 when it entered the intersection and collided with a vehicle that was making a protected left turn southbound on Duportail Street. The driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger was transported to a local hospital; her condition has not been reported. The semi-truck driver’s status has also not been publicly disclosed.
This crash has a relatively clear starting point for investigators: a commercial truck reportedly failed to stop at a red light. But the investigation will go further than that. Authorities will want to establish the truck’s speed as it approached and entered the intersection, how long the light had been red, whether the driver applied the brakes, and whether any mechanical failure contributed to the truck’s failure to stop.
Electronic logging and braking data from the truck will be central to that review. Modern commercial trucks capture detailed information in the seconds before a collision, and that data can either corroborate or complicate the initial account of what happened.
The victim’s vehicle was making a protected left turn, meaning she had a dedicated green arrow and the legal right of way. That detail is legally significant. Drivers executing a protected turn have every reason to expect cross traffic has stopped. A commercial truck entering that same intersection against a red light removes any opportunity for the other driver to anticipate or avoid the collision.
Federal and state regulations hold commercial truck drivers to a high standard of care, and that standard extends to basic traffic compliance. When a truck driver fails to stop at a red light and kills another driver who was legally in the intersection, the question of liability becomes a central focus of any legal claim.
Source: NBC
Crashes involving red-light violations by commercial trucks can appear straightforward, but building a complete liability case still requires gathering electronic vehicle data, reviewing the truck driver’s logs and employment records, and identifying all potentially responsible parties, which can include the driver, the carrier, and in some cases the vehicle’s owner or maintenance provider.
D’Amore Law Group handles serious truck accident cases throughout Oregon and Washington. Tom D’Amore is certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in truck accident law, one of a small number of attorneys in the Pacific Northwest to hold that distinction.
To understand your legal options after a crash like this, contact D’Amore Law Group to schedule a consultation.
