A 32-year-old Wapato woman was killed and two men were injured on Wednesday evening, November 4, when a pickup truck crossed into oncoming traffic on State Route 24 near Moxee in Yakima County and was hit by two semi-trucks in succession, the Washington State Patrol said. The crash was reported at about 6:14 p.m. near Morrier Lane, around milepost 3 on the two-lane highway east of Yakima.
Source: Washington State Patrol, via Accident News, Nov 5, 2026
Troopers said a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado pickup travelling eastbound, driven by Cristian M. Gonzalez, 35, moved into the westbound lanes and struck a westbound 2011 Volvo VN semi-truck that was pulling two trailers. A second westbound semi — a 2003 Peterbilt 379, also pulling two trailers — then struck the pickup. The patrol has not said why the Silverado crossed the centre line, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Jamaica Castro, 32, of Wapato, who was riding as a passenger in the pickup, died at the scene. Gonzalez was injured and taken to MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital. The Peterbilt driver, Jaime Contreras, 46, of Wapato, was also injured and taken to the same Yakima hospital. The Volvo driver, Hector Altamirano, 21, of Wapato, was not hurt. The State Patrol said everyone involved was wearing a seatbelt.
Drugs and alcohol ruled out — but charges are pending
The State Patrol said investigators have ruled out intoxicants as a factor in the crash: neither drugs nor alcohol is believed to have played a part. Even so, troopers said charges are pending against Gonzalez, the pickup's driver. That is an allegation-stage step, not a conviction — no charge had been announced as filed by Thursday, and the patrol has not specified what charge or charges it will recommend. The final charging decision in a fatal Yakima County crash rests with county prosecutors once the patrol's investigation is complete.
Source: Washington State Patrol report details, Nov 5-6, 2026
A farm-freight corridor east of Yakima
State Route 24 is the main east-west highway out of the Yakima Valley through Moxee, carrying farm traffic, produce haulers and double-trailer freight rigs between Yakima, the Wapato and Toppenish area, and the route east toward Othello and the Vernita Bridge over the Columbia River. In the valley's harvest and packing season the road mixes slow agricultural vehicles, local pickups and heavy doubles on an undivided two-lane cross-section — a combination in which a single drift across the centre line leaves an oncoming driver almost no room or time to react. Wapato, the home town of three of the four people involved, sits on the Yakama Nation reservation a short drive south of the crash site.
Confirmed by the Washington State Patrol: the time, place and sequence of the two impacts; the names, ages and home towns of all four people; one death at the scene and two hospital transports; seatbelts in use; and drugs and alcohol ruled out. Not established: why the pickup crossed into the oncoming lanes, and what charges, if any, will be filed — the patrol says only that charges are pending against the pickup driver.
Why this corridor matters to Punjabi trucking families
The Yakima Valley is one of the Pacific Northwest's biggest produce regions — apples, hops, cherries and vegetables move out of its packing sheds by truck in every season — and Punjabi and other South Asian drivers and small fleet owners are a familiar part of the freight workforce on Washington's valley routes. A crash in which both oncoming vehicles were doubles underlines the risk troopers in the region repeat every season: on an undivided highway at dusk, the first sign of trouble can be a vehicle already in your lane, and the heaviest rigs on the road have the least ability to swerve or stop in time.
What happens next
State Patrol investigators will complete the collision reconstruction — including why the Silverado left its lane — before the file goes forward with the patrol's stated position that charges against Gonzalez are pending. The Yakima County coroner and prosecutors' offices are the next official steps for the death certification and any charging announcement. Drivers using SR-24 through the Moxee valley in the meantime face the ordinary winter pattern on the route: early darkness, farm traffic and heavy doubles, on a highway with no median.