Vehicle crash kills North Idaho mother, daughter

A mother and daughter from North Idaho died in a car crash early Thursday southwest of Plummer.

Veronica J. Matt, 24, of Worley, and her mother, Juanita A. Garcia, 42, of Tensed, were killed when the 2003 Chevrolet Blazer Matt was driving veered out of control off Lovell Valley Road, the Idaho State Police reported.

Six people were in the Blazer when it went off the road around 1:20 a.m. and rolled several times. Four of them, including the two who died, were members of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. Veronica Matt’s brother, Joseph M. Matt, 23, of Worley, was in the vehicle, as was 25-year-old Dianna Matheson, of Worley, niece of tribal councilman David Matheson, tribal officials and the ISP said.

“Anytime you have something like this in a small community like this, it’s going to affect a lot of people,” said Marc Stewart, a tribe spokesman. “The family ties down here are very strong. Families are grieving right now. It’s a sad day.”

The remaining passengers were Jeremiah Johnson, 18, of Wellpinit, Wash., and Deejai Revais, 23, of Fruitland, Wash., who was taken to Kootenai Medical Center, the ISP reported. Garcia was taken to KMC and pronounced dead there, the ISP said.

Alcohol was involved in the accident, the police said.