Man pleads not guilty in fatal crash

A 21-year-old man Deer Park pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the charge of vehicular homicide in connection with a July 16 collision that killed a woman riding a scooter on Wandermere Road north of Spokane.

Jonathon P. Bales, 21, was given a trial date of Jan. 3 by Spokane County Superior Court Judge Michael Price. According to court records, Bales was driving his 1985 Pontiac Firebird southbound on Wandermere Road when he apparently crossed the centerline and struck 54-year-old Rene Blaume, who was riding a Racer iScooter in the northbound lane near the intersection with Glenrose Drive.

Blaume was declared dead at the scene. Toxicology reports showed that Bales had marijuana in his system at the time of the crash, according to court records.