A woman who was killed in a collision on Interstate 5 on Saturday was a popular singer with a passion for Mexican music who performed in dozens of South King County venues, according to relatives and friends.
Irma Tranquilino Pena, 42, of Federal Way, was a passenger in an SUV that veered into another lane and struck a Freightliner tractor just before midnight.
The mother of five, who was not wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the State Patrol.
Tranquilino Pena was born into a poor family in Jalisco, Mexico, according to her cousin, Alberto Pena. But she was proud of her native country and its music and arts, he said.
After she moved to the Puget Sound area from San Diego five years ago, she became involved in the Latino community, performing at fundraisers, festivals, restaurants and clubs.
She was a regular performer at La Botana in Des Moines, where she often was billed on posters as Irma “La Jaliciense.”
According to the State Patrol, Tranquilino Pena and a 42-year-old Kent man were passengers in a 2001 Chevy Tahoe driven by a 40-year-old woman, also from Kent.
As the Tahoe traveled southbound near South 188th Street, authorities say, the driver slowed for traffic but then lost control of the vehicle and struck a tractor trailer in an adjacent lane.
The truck, which was driven by a 27-year-old man from Everett, rolled over, and both vehicles came to a rest on the left side of the freeway, according to the State Patrol.
The collision blocked traffic for nearly 12 hours.
The two other occupants of the Tahoe and the driver of the tractor trailer and his passenger all were injured and taken to hospitals, authorities said.
According to the State Patrol, drugs or alcohol don’t appear to be a factor in the accident.
Alberto Pena said his cousin was kind and generous. She was always eager to use her talents to help others, he said.
Her family has set up a account to help pay for her funeral and assist her children, Pena said.
