Wrong-way driver arrested north of Tri-Cities. He has 5 prior DUI convictions

Cameron Probert
·2 min read
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A habitual drunk driver was caught Saturday after reportedly driving at least 8 miles in the wrong lane of Highway 395 north of Pasco.

The 32-year-old, who previously was sentenced to nearly three years in a Washington prison for driving intoxicated, is back in jail on suspicion of felony DUI.

Court records show Diego Dominguez has five previous drunk driving convictions but he’d earned his license back and was supposed to have an ignition interlock on his car. The device requires the driver to provide a breath sample before the engine will start.

The Lexus that Dominguez was driving didn’t have the device, police said.

Other travelers on Highway 395 reported the white Lexus heading south in the northbound lanes shortly before 10:40 p.m.

The first 911 caller said the car was between Eltopia and the Highway 17 exit in north Franklin County, Washington State Patrol Trooper Chris Thorson told the Herald.

Callers said the driver was swerving on the divided highway and traveling at erratic speeds.

Franklin County sheriff’s deputies and WSP troopers began searching for the Lexus as others on the highway continued to call 911.

Emergency dispatchers received five calls before the driver reportedly turned around and headed the correct direction, but he was still driving erratically, said Thorson.

Dominguez pulled over when a Franklin County deputy signaled for him to stop.

The initial results of Dominguez’s alcohol test were not made public, but deputies reported he was very drunk as they were taking him to jail, said Thorson.

Dominguez’s passenger was reportedly passed out and not responding to police. He was checked by medics and then arrested on an outstanding warrant from Adams County and taken to jail in Ritzville.

Dominguez was booked into the Franklin County jail in Pasco for felony DUI, which requires at least three prior DUI convictions. He was also booked for driving without an ignition interlock.

Dominguez has five previous convictions for DUI starting in 2010, according to court documents.

Most of his previous convictions happened in Othello, but his last one, in 2017, was in Franklin County and carried a nearly three-year prison sentence.