A Kennewick teen left a father disabled when his high speed chase ended in a crash on a Tri-City on-ramp.
Juan Bejar Cardenas, 19, had been running from the Washington State Patrol in a Hyundai Elantra on Nov. 13, 2025 and reached speeds of 100 mph.
His chase through Richland ended when he went the wrong way on Interstate 182 about 2:30 a.m. He crashed into another car on the Queensgate on-ramp, leaving the other driver with two broken feet, a shattered arm and a host of other injuries.
He’s been through three surgeries and is heading to a fourth, he told Judge Bronson Brown during a Wednesday sentencing hearing for Bejar Cardenas.
“This crash has taken my freedom,” he said in a written statement. “Because of the extensive damage, I can barely walk. I have been unable to return to work. We are struggling every day to survive.”
Bejar Cardenas pleaded guilty in Benton County Superior Court to four counts of vehicular assault, eluding police and endangering construction workers on the road.
He faced nearly 4 1/2 years to nearly 6 years in prison.
The prosecutors and defense agreed to recommend a five-year prison sentence. Deputy Prosecutor Tyler Grandgeorge and defense attorney Scott Rodgers pointed out how serious the crash was, but balanced it with Bejar Cardenas’ age.
“With cases like this, it’s easy to feel outraged,” Rodgers said, “There is no balancing in this life and through the stupid decision of a teenager an entire family can be ruined.”
Rodgers noted though that longer than five years in prison may not result in a better person when he is released.
Bejar Cardenas apologized for his actions and the pain they caused. The Kennewick man has two children that he will work to return to.
“I’m sorry for putting everyone through this pain,” he said. “I will do whatever treatment that I need to do.”
Brown said he believed Bejar Cardenas understood to gravity of the crimes that he committed.
“Reading through these facts, I’m surprised that you didn’t kill anyone,” he said. “Incarceration satisfies justice, but it only goes to a certain point.”
Brown hoped that Bejar Cardenas’ children would motivate him to improve. Richland chase and crash
A Washington State Patrol trooper spotted Bejar Cardenas’s Hyundai Elantra going 71 mph on Highway 240 about 2:30 a.m. and signaled for him to pull over, court documents said.
Bejar Cardenas sped up instead, and reached 100 mph as it came to George Washington Way, speeding through a construction zone at Columbia Point Drive. Several workers had to move out of the way.
The trooper continued to follow as Bejar Cardenas cut through the Lewis and Clark Elementary School parking lot and tore up the grass. He continued speeding through Richland, court documents said.
He ended up turning back onto Highway 240 and then turned onto Interstate 182 going west in the eastbound lanes.
The trooper shut off his emergency lights and continued to follow in the correct lanes.
The Elantra made it to the on ramp from Queensgate Drive onto the interstate, where it hit a Ford Fiesta. Two passengers in the Elantra were hurt and the driver of the Fiesta was seriously injured and taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center.
Bejar Cardenas was found lying on the grass next to the driver’s side of the car complaining of the pain to his leg. He denied being the driver, but his flip-flop was found on the driver’s side of the car.
It’s believed that Bejar Cardenas was intoxicated at the time.
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