Hanford worker killed in Hwy 240 head-on ID’d as longtime nuclear site employee

A 55-year-old Hanford worker is dead after two pickup trucks hit head on Monday morning on the Hanford nuclear reservation just outside Richland.

Thomas O. “Woody” Woodrich of Pasco was headed west on Highway 240 about 5:40 a.m. in a Ford 250 when he pulled into the eastbound lane, the Washington State Patrol said in a traffic memo.

While the state patrol didn’t explain why he changed lanes, initial reports said he was trying to pass another vehicle on the two-lane highway.

He collided with a Dodge Ram driven by Ryan M. Harris, 47, of Yakima, just northwest of the Wanawish-Horn Rapids diversion dam and the intersection of Highway 240 and Highway 225. Both men were wearing their seat belts.

Woodrich died at the scene, and Harris was not injured.

WSP investigators said the cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Woodrich worked for the Hanford tank farm contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions, as a radiological control technician. He had been employed at the site for 22 years.

The crash blocked 20 miles of highway for about an hour while troopers investigated. They were able then to reopen one of the lanes to move traffic around the collision scene.

That section of Highway 240, which runs between the production portion of Hanford and the Hanford Reach National Monument, is heavily traveled by commuters to the Hanford site.

Wes Bryan, president of the tank farm contractor, sent a memo to employees Monday, saying grief counseling was available through Hanford’s new occupational medical provider, Inomedic Health Applications.

“This is a reminder of what’s most important in life – those you love and care for deeply,” he said in the memo.

Herald reporter Annette Cary contributed to this story.