Miguel Melendez is seen in this photo with his wife, Courtney.
The investigation into an accident June 25 on Interstate 5 south of Chehalis that killed a pedestrian is ongoing, but no criminal charges are pending, Washington State Patrol Trooper Michael Johnson told The Chronicle.
The crash killed 39-year-old Everson resident Miguel Melendez, who died after being hit by a SUV while trying to push a disabled car to the side of the road.
The full report could be done in about two weeks, said Johnson, the trooper in charge of the investigation into the crash, which blocked I-5 for three hours and backed up traffic for miles.
As the investigation continues, Melendez’s family are hungry for answers.
“My mother is concerned —she wants to know how this happened,” said Miguel’s brother Esray Melendez. “We don’t really know anything. The insurance company just offered $2,000. That’s all my brother’s life was worth.”
Esray Melendez said his brother started his day on June 25 much like any other. He made breakfast for his pregnant wife, Courtney, and for his two young children. Then the family went to a park before traveling to his sister’s shop to help with some maintenance.
While driving on Interstate 5 to his sister’s store, with his wife and children in the car, Melendez saw a disabled car pulled over on the left shoulder of the northbound side of the freeway near milepost 71 south of Chehalis. He pulled over and tried his best to help, Esray Melendez said.
“I really wanted people to know what his day was like,” he said.
The disabled Blue 1988 Ford Mustang, driven by a 23-year-old Redmond man, was partially blocking the northbound lane. Melendez pulled his own Yellow 1999 Ford Mustang in front of the disabled car.
Esray Melendez said his sister-in-law told him traffic on the freeway was virtually stopped when Miguel Melendez and a few other people who also stopped to help attempted to push the disabled car across two lanes to the larger right shoulder.
Johnson said he talked to more than 10 witnesses, who said the men pushing the Mustang thought they had a big enough break in traffic to make it to the other side of the road.
Witnesses told WSP troopers that, when the Mustang was in between the left and right lanes, two cars drove up in the left lane. The first had time to get around the Mustang.
Esray Melendez told The Chronicle his sister-in-law saw the Red 2010 Ford Explorer “bobbing” through traffic from a nearby on-ramp.
Johnson said witnesses said the Explorer swerved to avoid the Mustang.
“The SUV didn’t have enough time to react,” he said.
The SUV, driven by a 68-year-old Marysville man, hit Miguel Melendez and the 1988 Mustang in the freeway’s left lane. Melendez died of his injuries.
WSP Patrol Sgt. Doug Pardue called Melendez’s actions “a tragic decision.”
The Washington State Patrol concluded that the accident was caused by a pedestrian in the roadway. No charges are pending against any party in the accident.
“There’s no maliciousness in what the other driver did,” Johnson said.
Esray Melendez said the family doesn’t agree with that conclusion and is considering legal action.
“We already have a lawyer that’s taking this up,” he said.
Johnson said five troopers involved in the investigation will soon be filing reports, which he will then compile into a summary of the investigation. The full WSP report will also include a study of the 24 hours before the crash from the perspectives of everyone involved and diagrams and analysis from a crash technician.
“That’s a pretty major report,” he said.
Esray Melendez said his brother had recently been through hard times, but didn’t like to ask for help.
“He was sleeping in hotels, he was sleeping in his car for a while with his kids,” he said.
Melendez has six children, one grandchild and had a baby on the way.
“Over the years, he’s been doing really, really bad but he really hasn’t expressed that too much to us,” Esray Melendez said. “Miguel is the type of person — no matter how much money he had — He loved to barbecue — He loved to invite people over to his house. That’s the type of person he is — he’d tell (it to) you like it is and make you a plate to eat.”
Esray Melendez said he knew his brother had tried to be a good Samaritan and help strangers in the past as well.
“I didn’t know he was going through things he was going through because he was pretty strong-headed,” he said. “Him pulling over to help someone was him (getting a) release — to help someone feel better in his own life. But that’s the kind of person Miguel was.”
Melendez’s family has set up an account on GiveForward.com to raise money for his funeral. The fundraiser is under the name “Miguel Angelo Melendez.”
“We need to bury him. We need to give him a proper burial,” Esray Melendez said.
