Youth Killed In Rollover Three Other Ferris Students Hurt In Palouse Highway Accident

One teenager is dead and three others injured after the car they took on a highspeed joyride rocketed off the road and rolled into a wheat field south of Spokane.

Washington State Patrol troopers said the youths, all Ferris High School students, were drinking before the crash.

The car’s driver, James “J.D.” Fish, 16, was pronounced dead at the scene. A junior at the school, he was not wearing a seat belt.

He was driving at least 95 mph when he lost control of his father’s white, two-door Ford Escort, troopers said.

Fish’s shoes and shirt were ripped from his body as he was thrown several yards from the car.

Another youth, Justin Bibler, 16, was flown to Sacred Heart Medical Center. He was listed in satisfactory condition late Monday.

Eric Treece and Santo McClendon, both 14, also were taken to Sacred Heart, where they were listed in satisfactory condition.

None of their injuries was life-threatening, a hospital spokesman said.

The accident occurred shortly before 1 p.m. on the Palouse Highway, just south of Valley Chapel Road. Two of the teenagers told troopers they decided to take that road because they wanted to drive fast.

The youths also told troopers all four were drinking. It is unclear if they showed up at school Monday and left early or whether they were skipping, officials said.

Troopers measured skid marks on the road and noted areas in the field where the car landed and rolled several times. Fish was southbound on the highway when the car left the road, hit an embankment and catapulted into the air.

The three surviving passengers were able to climb out of the car and stumble through the field. One walked up a hill to the highway and waved down a passing car for help.

“It’s incredible that any of them walked away,” said WSP spokesman Sgt. Chris Powell. “Especially when you consider the speeds involved and see the damage to the car.”

Larry Porter, an assistant principal at Ferris, said a team of counselors will be available to students this morning. Officials knew little about the crash and few students had heard about it before school let out Monday, he said.

Porter refused to talk about any of the students, saying he was not sure if their families were notified of the crash.

“We’re gearing up to deal with this so we’ll be ready in the morning,” Porter said. “We have a plan to help students when we have a crisis like this.”

Bibler is a junior at Ferris. Treece and McClendon are freshmen.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos (1 Color); Map of crash area