Three patrol cars wrecked this week

Spokane County Sheriff’s deputy’s patrol car was taken out of service Saturday afternoon after being involved in a non-injury collision on Highway 2. It was the third car taken out of service this week. The most recent crash occurred about 1:15 p.m. at Hawthorne Road on Highway 2. Deputy Matt Spink was responding to an assault call. Spink was eastbound on Hawthorne with his lights and sirens on. He stopped at the intersection before proceeding through slowly. Northbound traffic on Highway 2 had stopped in two lanes, but as Spink entered the third lane, Judith Ann Vanderbosch, 71, of Mead, entered the intersection and was struck by Spink’s car. Spink’s patrol car hit the passenger-side doors of Vanderbosch’s Buick, spinning it and smashing the patrol car’s PIT bumper off to the side. The Washington State Patrol investigated the crash and cited Vanderbosch for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. Another sheriff’s patrol car was totaled last Sunday night in a crash at Francis and Freya, and another was damaged in a crash on Indian Trail Road just north of Francis Thursday morning. The patrol cars - Crown Victorias - are no longer produced by Ford Motor Company and totaled patrol cars must be replaced with another model.