Richland pedestrian killed on Stevens Drive ID’d, believed to be walking in road

A 48-year-old man was identified as the person hit while walking on Stevens Drive last week.

Officials were able to confirm that William Matyear of Richland died on March 15 shortly before 4 a.m. when he was hit by a car, Benton County Coroner Bill Leach told the Herald. He died at the scene.

Officials initially have trouble confirming his identity because Matyear didn’t have any identification on him and the only picture they had of him was old. They were able to confirm who he was by using his fingerprints.

Preliminary testing shows that Matyear was under the influence when he was hit in the lanes of travel on the north Richland street, Leach said.

Other drivers had called the police about a man in the roadway, and officers were on their way when Matyear was struck. Officers arrived moments later, police Commander Damon Jansen told the Herald.

The driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigation, police said. And investigators have determined the driver wasn’t impaired or speeding.

Stevens Drive is used by many workers commuting to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland and to the Wye Barricade entrance to the Hanford nuclear reservation.

There is not much information publicly available about Matyear. Public records show he spent most of his life living in Kennewick and Pasco, and spent time in Eugene, Ore.