In brief: Inmate’s death triggers afternoon lockdown at jail

The Spokane County Jail was locked down for five hours Friday afternoon after an inmate apparently committed suicide.

“He was in a cell all by himself,” said Sgt. Joe Peterson of the Spokane Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit. “There’s no question it was self-inflicted.”

The man, who was not identified, used bedsheets to hang himself, Peterson said. The death was discovered at 1 p.m., which launched the lockdown.

Normally a suicide investigation at the jail would be headed up by the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, which runs the jail, but the Police Department was asked to take it over even though no jail staff was involved, Peterson said. “We’re starting some new protocol,” he said.

The investigation into the death is nearly complete, Peterson said.

Attempts fail to revive man found unconscious by skier

A man died of apparently natural causes Saturday at the Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park. Another skier found an unconscious “older gentleman” in the area of Lost Woods on the Chair One side of the mountain, said marketing director Kristin Whitaker.

The man showed no evidence of “impact or trauma,” Whitaker said. “It was probably natural causes. Ski Patrol made a valiant effort to revive him. They were not successful.”

Med Star responded, but the man was not able to be revived. The man has been identified, but his name will not be released until his family is notified, Whitaker said.

Athol

Early morning collision sends four to hospital

A crash on U.S. Highway 95 at Athol sent four people to the hospital early Saturday morning after one driver apparently drove on the wrong side of the road.

Andrew M. Becker, 21, of Moscow, Idaho, was heading north on U.S. Highway 95 and trying to turn west onto state Highway 54 when the left rear side of his vehicle was struck by a car heading north in the southbound lanes about 1:40 a.m., according to Idaho State Police. The second car was driven by 25-year-old David L. Wilder, of Powell, Wyo.

Both drivers were taken to Kootenai Medical Center for treatment of their injuries, along with Becker’s passengers, Thomas A. Leija, 20, of Hagerman, Idaho, and Torrey K. Ikeda, 20, of Lihue, Hawaii. According to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Leija, Ikeda and Becker are students at the University of Idaho.

As of Saturday evening, all but Leija, who was reported in good condition, had been treated and released from the hospital.

Wilder will be charged with aggravated driving under the influence, according to ISP.

From staff reports