Cheney man killed trying to cross highway

The driver who struck and killed a 61-year-old Cheney man Sunday night also was involved in a serious injury accident southwest of Cheney in April, records show. The fatal accident Sunday occurred on First Street, which also is state Highway 904, in southwest Cheney section of Cheney. James L. Dahl was taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center where he died from injuries, according to the Washington State Patrol. Troopers said he was hit about 10:45 p.m. by a westbound car driven by William W. Knight Jr., 47, of Cheney, who was driving westbound in a 1997 Kia Sephia. Dahl for the past two years was the owner of Chet’s Flowers & Gifts at 1319 First St. in Cheney and was walking home with his wife, Joy, when the accident occurred, according to an employee at the shop. Court records show the same car was identified as being driven by Knight on April 15 when he struck bicyclist Theodore Chauvin, 36, on Cheney-Plaza Road. Chauvin suffered a broken leg and shoulder. In that accident, Knight told a sheriff’s deputy he came around a curve and attempted to avoid the cyclist. He was cited for failing to have insurance, and the case is pending in Spokane County District Court. Knight, who indicated he was living in the Williams Lake area on a court document, also was pulled over on April 6 when an officer discovered that his Kia did not have proper registration. The officer said in a report that he ran the vehicle plate that, which showed an expiration of 2011, but he discovered that the registration had been expired insince 2009. Knight told the officer he had borrowed the car. An incorrect registration was confiscated, according to a court record of the traffic stop. In a notice to the court, Knight said he was an accounting student at Spokane Falls Community College. In the April 6 stop, Knight is still facing infractions for having an expired registration, no insurance and improper use of plates. The cost of the ticket for forfeiture of court proceedings was $916.