A weekend ride along State Route 397 turned fatal Saturday night when an oncoming SUV turned directly into the path of a local motorcycle rider just outside Kennewick. Lyle H. Mineer III, 36, died at the scene after his bike was struck near Perkins Road in Benton County.
The crash happened right around 8:21 p.m. at Milepost 14, about three miles east of the Kennewick city limits. Mineer was riding southbound on his 2011 Victory Cross motorcycle with a passenger when the wreck occurred.
According to state troopers, a 2000 Isuzu Trooper heading northbound made a left turn directly in front of Mineer. The driver of the Isuzu failed to yield the right of way, leaving Mineer no time to avoid the collision.
Emergency responders rushed to the scene, but Mineer could not be saved. First responders pronounced the 36-year-old Kennewick man dead where the crash took place.
Mineer’s passenger, 22-year-old Laurana R. Hechinger-Vantine, suffered injuries in the impact. Paramedics transported her to Kadlec Regional Medical Center for emergency medical treatment.
Investigators confirmed that both Mineer and Hechinger-Vantine were wearing USDOT-compliant helmets at the time of the crash. The driver of the Isuzu and her passenger walked away from the collision without any injuries.
Law enforcement officers determined that neither drugs nor alcohol played a role in the crash. State troopers issued a citation to the driver of the Isuzu Trooper at the scene for failing to yield.
For family and friends across the Kennewick area, Mineer’s sudden death leaves a deep hole. People who knew him are holding tight to memories of a man whose life ended far too soon on a dark stretch of county highway.
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