Yakima man arrested in connection with fatal Halloween drunk driving crash | Crime and courts

A Yakima man is being held in the Yakima County Jail after a drunken rollover in Terrace Heights on Halloween night, leaving one person dead and one injured.

Oscar Padilla Jr., 18, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide after the crash on Roza Hill Drive.

Sheriff's deputies and paramedics responded to the 9000 block of Roza Hill Drive, east of the Terrace Heights Landfill, where a rollover accident occurred around 7:25 p.m. According to an affidavit, officers found a 1988 GMC pickup truck driven by Padilla that failed to turn on the road and rolled 40 feet down an embankment.

Two of Padilla's passengers, Nathan A. Sanchez, 18, and Carlos A. Hernandez-Pena, 19, both of Yakima, were ejected from the truck, the affidavit said. Both men were taken to MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital, where Sanchez died and Hernandez-Pena was treated for injuries including a broken leg.

Yakima County Deputy Coroner Marshall Slight said an autopsy Friday showed Sanchez died of internal bleeding as a result of the accident.

In a GoFundMe post asking for money for funeral expenses, Sanchez was described as a “smart, kind-hearted young man.”

“His infectious smile, gentle spirit and generous spirit left a lasting impression on friends, family and the entire community,” the post said.

Washington State Patrol troopers obtained a search warrant to collect Padilla's blood samples for analysis.

Officers said Padilla had a strong odor of alcohol on him, failed a field sobriety test and a preliminary breath test showed his blood alcohol level was .206, which is about two and a half times the legal limit for an adult over the age of 21 and 10 times that limit for a minor, the affidavit said.

At a preliminary hearing Friday, Yakima County Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Barrett argued for $50,000 bail, acknowledging that the likelihood of Padilla failing to appear in court or committing new crimes was slim . However, he said the allegation that Padilla was driving drunk posed a “threat to the community.”

“Driving around with this level of intoxication puts everyone at risk,” Barrett said. “It puts him at risk, it puts his passengers at risk, it puts everyone on the road and off the road at risk.

“The risk is that someone could die, and that’s where we are today.”

Defense attorney Melissa Derry, a public defender who represents people in their first court appearances, requested that Padilla be released on pretrial supervision. She said Padilla had support from family, who sat in the courtroom gallery in the basement of the Yakima County Jail.

“Mr. Padilla, in every way, Your Honor, is an outstanding figure in this society, not only because he has people here who support him, but because he has worked to educate people about election issues,” Derry said. ” He was born and raised here in Yakima and is working on his high school diploma.”

Derry noted that Padilla has been “extremely cooperative” with investigators and that other restrictions, such as a ban on drinking or driving, are acceptable.

Yakima County Superior Court Judge Kevin Naught said he could not release Padilla based on the facts in the affidavit.

“This is a weapon used by someone who appears to have made some very poor decisions,” Naught said.

Naught said a $20,000 bond was enough to address his concerns about Padilla.