Deputies searching for man who jumped into Yakima River after car crash

TOPPENISH, Wash. — A search and rescue team is searching for a man who leapt into the Yakima River after crashing his car into a semi-truck on State Route 22.

The driver was a a 31-year-old Zillah resident, according to Yakima County Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Mike Russell.

Troopers responded to the collision just after midnight on Friday morning. The man was driving a 1993 Nissan Sentra westbound crossed the center line of the highway and struck a tractor trailer going the opposite direction, reports said.

After totaling his car, the man got out and jumped from a bridge into the river.

The man driving the tractor trailer was identified as a 46-year-old Las Vegas man. He was not injured, Washington State Patrol said.

SR 22 was closed until 3:30 a.m. over the bridge on Friday, according to the state Dept. of Transportation.