I-82 wrong-way driver kills 2 Grandview children. Driver seen earlier going 111 mph

Two children from the Yakima Valley are dead and three more people are in a Seattle hospital after a suspected intoxicated driver slammed into them going the wrong way on Interstate 82.

Washington State Patrol troopers believe Keith A Goings, 20, of Springfield, Mo., got onto the interstate going west in the eastbound lanes from the Sunnyside exit, Trooper Chris Thorson told the Herald.

A Washington State Patrol trooper had spotted the 2007 Ford Mustang earlier going 111 mph on Interstate 90 near Ellensburg about 6:35 p.m. Tuesday.

The trooper tried to stop the car, but Goings sped off. Current state laws around police pursuits prevented the officer from chasing him since there was no evidence of a violent or sexual crime or that the driver was under the influence.

A law being considered by this year’s Legislature would add more options for pursuits, including if a suspect poses a “serious risk of harm to others.”

An hour later, Goings was driving the wrong way on I-82 and slammed head-on into a Nissan Altima driven by Maurilio D. Trejo, 23. The crash happened about two miles west of Sunnyside.

The crash killed a 6-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl in Trejo’s car.

A 5-year-old girl in the Altima, as well as Trejo and Goings, were taken to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital and then flown to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center.

Their current conditions were not immediately available Wednesday.

Trejo and the three children are from Grandview and were all wearing seat belts. They are related, but police have not said how.

Investigators believe Goings was either drunk or high on drugs at the time. A blood sample is being tested, Thorson said.

State patrol investigators plan to look into what brought Goings from Missouri to Washington, said Thorson.