Tri-Cities motorcyclist hit head-on when driver turns in front of him east of Kennewick

A Kennewick motorcyclist was hospitalized Tuesday night after he was struck head-on by a driver who turned in front of him, said the Washington State Patrol.

Weldon L. Whitworth, 38, was headed north on Highway 397 on a Honda motorcycle when he was hit at 5:30 p.m. about a mile south of the Kennewick city limits

Bernadette R. Waters, 36, of Kennewick, was driving south on the two-lane highway through the Finley area when she tried to turn at Haney Road and didn’t yield to Whitworth in the oncoming lane, said the WSP.

He was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. His condition was not immediately available.

Waters was driving a Hyundai Elantra and wearing a seatbelt and was not injured. She was cited for driving with a suspended or revoked license and failing to yield.

The collision blocked the road and traffic was diverted for a couple hours before it reopened about 7:30 p.m., said the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Earlier Pasco crash

Earlier on Tuesday, two men were hurt when a driver lost control and hit a guardrail north of the blue bridge in Pasco and the pickup flipped.

Diego A. Galvez-Gutierrez, 20, of Pasco, was driving north on Highway 395 near Court Street when he swerved, overcorrected and rolled the white Dodge Ram pickup, said the WSP.

He and his passenger, Luciano M. Galvez, 64, of Pasco, were both taken to Kadlec. Both were wearing seatbelts.

The crash happened just before 3 p.m. Tuesday.