In brief: Crash, fall into river kills driver

An Idaho woman died Wednesday night when her pickup truck went off U.S. Highway 2 west of Laclede, Idaho, and went into the Pend Oreille River.

Judy Cruzan, 52, of Kootenai, was headed east on the highway 22.5 miles southwest of Sandpoint when she lost control of her 2007 Nissan Frontier, according to the Idaho State Police.

Her pickup left the road off the right shoulder, striking a signpost and guardrail before overturning and going down an embankment into the river about 8:50 p.m., police said. She died at the scene.

Staff reports

Driver arrested on drug charge

An unemployed Spokane father was arrested on suspicion of selling drugs after police found cocaine in his car during a traffic stop.

Thomas J. Boring’s 7-year-old son was with him when a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy stopped their pickup near East Sprague Avenue and South Chronicle Road about 3:45 p.m., according to a news release by Sgt. Dave Reagan.

Boring, 56, was sweating, “extremely fidgety” and talking rapidly when Deputy Jeff Thurman spoke to him, Reagan said. He was arrested for allegedly driving with a suspended license, at which point Thurman found cocaine on him and then discovered a bag with another four packages of the drug on the truck’s back floorboard.

Thurman also found a drug ledger in the vehicle; he said Boring lost his job in January and began selling cocaine in July to pay bills.

Boring said he’d just picked up his son “and that no drug sales occurred in his presence,” Reagan said.

Boring was booked into jail. His brother picked up his son.

Meghann M. Cuniff