Driver, 23, charged with felony after crash

A 23-year-old Trentwood man is in jail on felony traffic charges after he injured another motorist in a rear-end collision at Broadway Avenue and Pines Road about 7:30 p.m. Monday, said Spokane Valley police spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan.

Witnesses said Christopher Lewis Green was eastbound on Broadway approaching Pines when he failed to stop for a Dodge pickup stopped at the red light.

His Ford pickup smashed into the rear of the Dodge driven by a 48-year-old Spokane Valley man.

Officers arriving at the scene smelled the strong odor of beer on Green’s breath as well as inside the cab of his pickup, Reagan said. It appeared beer had been spilled inside the vehicle and traffic Officer Jack Rosenthal found an open beer partially hidden in the bed of the truck.

Rosenthal conducted field sobriety tests on Green and subsequently arrested him for driving while under the influence of alcohol. When paramedics advised him that the other driver had suffered serious back and neck injuries in the crash, he amended the arrest to vehicular assault.