The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a Friday crash near Wandermere Road and Glencrest Drive that fatally injured a Spokane woman who traveled to work by scooter.

Rene Blaume, 54, was riding to her job as an in-home health care provider for a night shift around 11 p.m., when a red 1985 Pontiac Firebird driven by Jonathan Bales, 20, turned in front of her, according to a Sheriff’s Office report.

A sheriff’s deputy driving on Highway 395 noticed Bales’ vehicle just before the crash because it had one head light out.

When the deputy went to stop Bales, he came upon the crash. Bales called 911 immediately after the crash and gave the police a voluntary blood draw.

He told them he had been drinking earlier in the evening while helping a friend work on a car, said sheriff’s Detective David Thornburg. The Sheriff’s Office is investigating the crash.

Anyone who witnessed the crash should contact Thornburg at dthornburg@spokanesheriff.org, or (509) 477-2710.

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