DUI suspect avoids train, breaks ankle

A 24-year-old man suspected of drunken driving escaped serious injury early Friday when his car was nearly struck by a train downtown, Spokane police said. Ruben Flores broke his ankle after fleeing a car he was driving that stalled near the Spokane Amtrak station around 3 a.m. Friday, according to a news release. Police received a call that a car had stalled on the tracks near Browne Street and Pacific Avenue. A train approached the car, but stopped before striking it, the release said. Flores and a passenger fled the car before police arrived, officers said. Flores jumped down a seven-foot embankment at Sprague Avenue and Division Street, breaking his ankle in the process, according to police. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of his injury after his arrest, according to the news release. Officers determined both Flores and his passenger had been drinking. There were no other injuries reported, and police did not say if the passenger would face charges.