Post Falls man killed in wrong-way crash on I-90

A Post Falls man died this morning following a collision involving another driver going the wrong way on Interstate 90 at Barker Road. The freeway was closed for several hours while Washington State Patrol troopers conducted their investigation. Kenneth J. Hardin, 27, died at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center following the 3:10 a.m. crash in the eastbound lanes beneath the Barker Road overpass. Traffic was rerouted along the off ramp at Barker and back onto the freeway on ramp. All lanes reopened prior to 8 a.m. Hardin was headed east in a 1989 Mazda MX6 when his vehicle collided with a westbound Toyota 4Runner driven by Teri Marie Scheele, 29, of Spokane, in the eastbound lanes. The vehicles collided head on. Scheele was taken to Sacred Heart, troopers said. Hospital officials were unable to update her condition this morning, but troopers said her condition was serious. She was arrested for vehicular homicide while being treated, troopers said. Investigators are looking at the possibility of drugs or alcohol contributing to the accident, said Trooper Troy Briggs, spokesman for WSP in Spokane. He said an arrest allows troopers the ability to take a blood sample for screening for drugs and alcohol without the patient’s consent. A third vehicle driven by Andrew R. Samek, 36, of Hayden, avoided the collision by crossing a cable barrier in the median. He was not injured. Several local agencies assisted troopers at the scene this morning.