Driver accused of being intoxicated when thrown from car on Highway 240

A driver is facing DUI charges after she was thrown out of car she crashed on Highway 240 and Columbia Center Boulevard on Monday afternoon.

Natalie H. Ibarra Meraz, 20, of Silt, Colo., allegedly had taken a drug before getting behind the wheel of a 1998 Lexus about 2:45 p.m., the Washington State Patrol said in a traffic memo.

She was heading east on the highway when she lost control and went into the median. She overcorrected and ended up flipping the car between Columbia Center Boulevard and Edison Street.

Ibarra Meraz was thrown out onto the highway as the car rolled, Trooper Daniel Mosqueda told the Tri-City Herald.

She was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center with not life-threatening injuries, he said.

She reportedly told medical officials that she’d taken a drug, but there wasn’t any sign that she had been drinking, Mosqueda said. No information was released about what drug was allegedly taken.

The crash closed eastbound lanes of Highway 240 and entrances to the highway from Columbia Center Boulevard for about half an hour.

This story was originally published June 29, 2026 at 4:40 PM.