Man, 67, dies after tractor rolls over him
A Deer Park man died Friday after the tractor he was working on ran over him before crashing through a door and continuing into a field.
The 67-year-old victim was working on his fixed-throttle farm tractor at his home in the 29200 block of Spotted Road when it suddenly started and rolled over his chest, said Spokane County sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Reagan. The man had been unable to get the tractor running, Reagan said.
The machine then crashed through a closed shop door and went into a field, where it made an abrupt turn and rammed through a corral before crashing into a tree, Reagan said.
The man, whose name was being withheld by the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office, died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Spokane county
STCU employee has viral meningitis
Spokane Teachers Credit Union members who’ve recently used its main and Cheney branches are being advised that an employee there has been hospitalized with viral meningitis.
While the risk of spreading the disease is considered small, the credit union issued an alert Friday so that customers would be aware of it.
The employee was on duty at the Cheney branch from April 27 through May 1 and at the main branch, 106 W. Nora Ave., on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The credit union recommends that anyone who may have been exposed and is feeling ill with a headache, a stiff neck and fever should consult a physician.
In addition to the public notice, STCU management has taken steps to disinfect work areas and is offering hand sanitizers to staff and credit union members.
For more information about meningitis, go to cdc.gov/meningitis.
Judges group elects Eitzen president
The Washington State Superior Court Judges’ Association named Spokane County Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen as its president at the annual spring conference.
As president, Eitzen – who was elected judge in Spokane County in 1994 – will represent 188 superior court judges throughout the state who are members of the organization.
Created by statute in 1933, the judges organization makes policy, addresses legislation and court administration, and provides information and education about the judicial branch of government, according to a news release. Eitzen’s term as president will last two years.
Coeur d’Alene
Man dies after fall from I-90 bridge
Several roads and parts of Interstate 90 east of Coeur d’Alene were closed for several hours Friday afternoon after a man fell to his death from the Veterans Memorial Bridge.
Witnesses contacted police after seeing the man jump about 12:20 p.m., the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department reported.
When deputies and medical personnel arrived, they found the man dead, lying on Sunnyside Road about 300 feet below the bridge. The death appeared to be a suicide, the Sheriff’s Department said.
Authorities believe a car parked on the bridge may have belonged to the man. The investigation is ongoing.
Moses lake
Starbucks a stopper as driver crashes, runs
A police chase in Moses Lake ended with the driver being pursued crashing into a Starbucks.
Grant County sheriff’s deputies and customers of a nearby Subway chased down Pasco resident Jaime Sanchez Torres, 26, as he ran from his 1998 Mustang Wednesday night after crashing into the coffee shop at the intersection of North Stratford Road and state Route 17, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The mayhem began when Torres passed a sheriff’s cruiser while speeding northeast of Moses Lake, the Sheriff’s Office said. Torres blew threw a stop sign near the Starbucks before hitting the back of the building.
No one was hurt in the crash. Torres was treated at a hospital then taken to the Grant County Jail on charges of drunken driving, eluding police, causing a traffic accident with property damage, obstructing a law enforcement officer, reckless driving and driving with a suspect license.
The crash totaled Torres’ Mustang, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
From staff reports