Woman dies after two-car crash

One of four people injured Friday in a two-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 395 north of Spokane later died, and another remained in critical condition Saturday.

Ellamae V. Rupp, 90, of Republic, Wash., died about nine hours after the northbound car in which she was riding collided with a pickup that was pulling out of a gasoline station near Halfmoon Road.

The driver of the 1994 Ford F-150 pickup was in critical condition Saturday in the intensive care unit at Sacred Heart Medical Center. The Washington State Patrol identified him as 70-year-old Herman Leo Kemple, of Spokane.

Kemple and Rupp both were airlifted to the hospital.

Rupp and Myrna L. Fowler, 66, of Raymond, Wash., were passengers in a 1997 Toyota Camry driven by Alta Mae Pruitt, 56, of Republic.

Pruitt was treated and released at Sacred Heart’s emergency room, and the hospital listed Fowler in satisfactory condition Saturday.

State troopers said Kemple was pulling out of the gasoline station about 4:10 p.m. when Pruitt’s car struck his truck. He was cited for failure to yield the right of way.

Spokane

Shooting suspect sought by police

Spokane police were searching Saturday for a 19-year-old man who allegedly fired a large-caliber pistol in a crowded apartment.

Police said Daniel K. Comer fired the shot about 4 a.m. in a dispute with his juvenile girlfriend. Officer Tim Moses said no one was injured, although there was a “large number of people in the apartment at the time.”

The bullet passed through two walls and lodged in a third without leaving the apartment.

Comer left the apartment before a police SWAT team arrived. The gun also was gone, so police considered Comer “armed and potentially dangerous.”

He was being sought on suspicion of second-degree domestic assault. Police asked anyone with information about Comer’s location to call 911.