Police seek driver in hit-run case

The Idaho State Police are looking for the driver who ran over a man who was lying down in the middle of one of Priest River’s busiest streets following a fight with his girlfriend.

The hit-and-run victim, 36-year-old James M. Benda of Oldtown, was listed in satisfactory condition Tuesday at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

According to the Idaho State Police, Benda and girlfriend Laura L. Reynolds, 38, Oldtown, were southbound on Wisconsin Street in Priest River. Reynolds stopped the car and both she and Benda got out and began arguing in front of the car, the ISP reported.

Benda lay down in the middle of the street in front of the car, according to reports, and Reynolds backed the car up into the parking lot of the Beef and Brew restaurant. As she was walking toward Benda to tell him to get out of the road, another car ran over him, ISP Cpl. Terry Ford said.

Ford said the car was described as a gold or light-colored Ford Thunderbird or Mercury Cougar from the late 1970s or early 1980s.

Ford said Benda “was up walking around and being belligerent” after the accident. He was taken to Newport Community Hospital and transferred to Sacred Heart.

The driver in the hit-and-run faces charges of leaving the scene of an injury accident, Ford said. Reynolds was arrested on the charge of driving under the influence and Benda could be charged with intoxication on a public highway, Ford said.

Anyone with information on the hit-and-run is asked to call the Idaho State Police at (208) 772-6055 or call the Bonner County Sheriff.