In brief: 10-year-old girl killed in Interstate 90 collision

A 10-year-old Spokane girl was killed Saturday night when the car she was riding in collided with a commercial truck on Interstate 90 13 miles east of Ritzville.

Gracie E. Snider was killed in the accident, the Washington State Patrol said. Another 10-year-old girl in the car, Ayla H. James, was injured and taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. She is listed in critical condition.

The driver, Nathan D. James, 38, was injured but not taken to a hospital.

According to investigators, James was driving a 1997 Toyota Avalon eastbound in the right lane behind a Freightliner and box trailer. He struck the rear of the trailer, and both vehicles came to a rest on the right shoulder.

The truck driver, Polegi L. Eneliko, 56, was not injured.

Man dies trapped by backhoe, truck

A man was killed Saturday when he became trapped between a backhoe and a truck he was working on, Spokane police said.

The accident occurred about 12:30 p.m. at East 28th Avenue and South Myrtle Street on the South Hill.

The man, whose identity wasn’t released, had been working on the truck and using the backhoe to move the vehicle, investigators said.

He got off the backhoe to make an adjustment, and the truck rolled forward and pinned him between the two, police said.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Climber rescued after ankle fracture

LEAVENWORTH, Wash. – Crews have rescued a 23-year-old Lynnwood man who fell while climbing west of Leavenworth.

Jacob Smith was hoisted out of the Icicle Creek area early Sunday, Chelan County Sheriff Brian Burnett said. A second aircraft was sent from Spokane to get him, after a Navy helicopter from Whidbey Island was pushed back by bad weather.

Smith was taken to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee.

Smith was climbing with a partner when he fell between 10 to 15 feet when a handhold broke free as he ascended a route. He fractured his ankle.

Deputies responded to the area Saturday after an emergency beacon sent out a help signal. They were eventually contacted by Smith’s partner, who had hiked out for help. Rescuers reached Smith by ground, but the steep, rocky terrain required helicopter assistance.

Naked man hit while running in traffic

PORTLAND – A naked man who was reportedly doing push-ups in the road was struck and killed by a car early Sunday, Portland police said.

Officers responded after getting a report just after 4 a.m. that a naked man was running in traffic near North Columbia Boulevard and Portsmouth Avenue.

A second report came in that the man was doing push-ups in road, and a third said he had been hit by a car.

Police say the driver who hit the pedestrian was not impaired by alcohol or drugs.

The road was closed for several hours. The state medical examiner’s office will conduct an autopsy. Police did not release names Sunday.

Nez Perce re-elect Whitman as leader

LAPWAI, Idaho – Silas Whitman will continue to lead the Nez Perce Tribe as chairman of its governing body, the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, while two other executive offices will have new faces.

Whitman was unanimously re-elected to the post by his fellow executive committee members Saturday at a meeting during which new and returning members were sworn in.

Whitman was among the dozens of people arrested while protesting the Omega Morgan megaload shipment destined for the oil sands in Alberta, Canada, last summer.