Kennewick Police Arrest Alleged DUI Suspect Who is 82 Years Old
It can get confusing during this time of the year when crews are out, day and night, repairing and repaving stretches of roads across the Tri-Cities.
Recently on 10th Avenue in Kennewick, between Kellogg St. and Union St., crews would close off half of the road in one direction to work on it, setting up a bunch of cones so single lane traffic could flow in opposite directions on the other, open half.
With usually no flag person on either end of the construction zone to guide drivers, unless you're following someone already in the traffic flow, it can get a little dicey as to where exactly you're supposed to go. If you think it can get confusing during the day, try it at night, while allegedly under the influence. Oh, and you're 82-years old.
As the suspect's car was exiting SR 240 eastbound at the Edison exit to head south, road work got the best of the driver's ability to navigate a construction zone resulting in a near miss of workers at the scene. The driver mashed a sign, struck the median and narrowly missed some workers before coming to a stop.
From the KPD Facebook page:
On 8-18-2020 at about 10:50 PM, we received calls of a collision that had occurred in the area of W Umatilla Ave and N Edison St. Construction crews are involved in a repaving project in this area. Officers located the suspect vehicle stopped in the construction area due to damage. The driver, Lynn Gillespie (82), was determined to be impaired and was arrested for DUI. The vehicle had been traveling south on Edison St from SR 240 and ran through a closed part of the road, struck a median and sign and narrowly missed construction workers before coming to a stop. Gillespie was booked into the Benton County Jail for DUI. KPD #20-33218