Trooper involved in four-car crash
A smashup along Interstate 90 sent several people to area hospitals early Sunday, including a Washington State Patrol trooper who was parked behind a car he had pulled over.
Trooper Allen W. Larned, 47, suffered unspecified injuries in the 12:14 a.m. crash near the Argonne Road exit in Spokane Valley. He was rushed to Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he was listed in satisfactory condition.
According to the state patrol, Larned had pulled over a 2008 Subaru Outback driven by Kevin C. Mangola, 31, of Spokane, and both vehicles were parked in the shoulder of the freeway’s westbound lanes. Mangola was in the back seat of the cruiser, a dispatcher said.
A 2008 Dodge pickup driven by William D. Zink, 29, of Coeur d’Alene, crashed into the back of Larned’s cruiser, sending the 2002 Crown Victoria into the Subaru and careening across the westbound lanes into a concrete barrier in the center median. The cruiser was hit again by a 2005 Dodge Caravan driven by 24-year-old Jayson D. Dick, of Richland, Wash., who troopers said was wearing a seat belt.
Mangola was listed in satisfactory condition at Deaconess Medical Center.
Zink and a passenger in his truck, 30-year-old John J. Abraham, of Coeur d’Alene, were treated at Deaconess for unspecified injuries, then booked into Spokane County Jail for investigation of vehicular assault, records show.
The freeway’s westbound lanes were closed for about six hours Sunday.
Spokane
102 degrees breaks record for date
Sunday’s scorching 102-degree high set a record for the date in Spokane, making it the hottest day of the year so far.
The previous record for Aug. 17 was 100 degrees, set in 1967.
The city’s all-time high of 108 degrees was recorded twice: July 26, 1928, and Aug. 4, 1961, according to the National Weather Service.
Although parts of the Inland Northwest reported higher temperatures on Sunday, the Weather Service uses monitoring equipment located at Spokane International Airport for official record-keeping.
Forecasters say high temperatures could drop into the 70s by Thursday.
Valley man killed in crash on U.S. 2
A Spokane Valley man was killed Sunday when his Chevrolet Tahoe was hit by an out-of-control SUV along U.S. Highway 2.
Dennis L. McGaffee, 65, died at the scene of the 11:50 a.m. collision about three miles east of Airway Heights, according to the Washington State Patrol. His passenger, 57-year-old Melinda C. McGaffee, of Spokane Valley, was rushed to Sacred Heart Medical Center.
Also injured was Scott P. Adams, 22, of Spokane, who was driving the eastbound 2001 Ford that crossed the centerline and hit McGaffee’s westbound vehicle, the state patrol said.
Adams also was taken to Sacred Heart.
Investigators are considering vehicular homicide charges.