Victim identified as Sharon Nielsen
A Spokane Valley woman killed in a collision Saturday east of Deer Park was Sharon K. Nielsen, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said in a news release Sunday.
Nielsen, 57, was westbound on Deer Park-Milan Road when her car collided head-on with a pickup driven by Robert H. Kiefer, 72, sheriff’s officials said.
The crash happened about 4 p.m. A witness told deputies Saturday that the Dodge pickup drifted into her lane and struck her car head-on.
A decision on whether charges will be filed against Kiefer is still pending, Reagan said Sunday.
Giant windmill part blocking Sprague
A giant section of stranded windmill may generate headaches for motorists this morning.
The 150,000-pound windmill part was being hauled down Sprague on a 154-foot semi tractor trailer rig when part of the trailer’s steering mechanism broke about 6:45 p.m. Sunday, Spokane Valley Police spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said in a news release. The rig was blocking the southern lane of Sprague between Willow and Mullan Road, Reagan said.
The trailer can’t be fixed until a part is shipped in from South Dakota. A replacement part has been ordered, but it was unknown how soon it would arrive, Reagan said.
The truck was heading to California from South Dakota, and was traveling down Sprague because the load is too large for underpasses on Interstate 90.
The windmill is the type often seen installed on California and Oregon hillsides to generate electrical energy from wind.
Sex offender moves to northwest Spokane
A man considered to be a high risk to commit sex crimes has moved to northwest Spokane, police said. James A. Peterschick, 46, was convicted in 1986 of statutory rape involving 13- and 14-year-old girls, said Spokane Police spokesman Dick Cottam in a press release. He also was convicted in Montana in 1990 of sexual intercourse without consent. That case involved a 17-year-old girl.
He is not wanted by law enforcement and is not under the supervision of the Department of Corrections, Cottam said.
Peterschick is 5 feet 11, 215 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.