California driver killed in crash

RITZVILLE – A California motorist was killed Wednesday, April 13, in an Interstate 90 crash near Milepost 229.

Thomas M. Hosford, 73, of Eureka, Calif., died at the scene about 8 miles east of Ritzville in the 3:16 p.m. crash, the Washington State Patrol reported.

Hosford was westbound in a 2000 Ford pickup on Interstate 90 when his vehicle entered the median “before vaulting off an embankment,” the patrol reported.

The vehicle came to rest on Hills Road, where it crosses underneath I-90, the patrol reported.

Hosford was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, the patrol reported. It is not known if either drugs or alcohol were a factor.

The pickup was totaled and removed from the scene by Ritzville Towing, the patrol reported. The vehicle was totaled.

The cause of the fatal crash remains under investigation.