In brief: Driver’s ed student, 14, cleared in injury crash
A 14-year-old driver’s education student was not at fault in a collision that sent five people to the hospital on Aug. 18, the Idaho State Police has determined.
The student was driving south on U.S. Highway 95 north of Bonners Ferry in a Chevy Malibu with his driving instructor and another 14-year-old student. The Malibu collided head-on with a northbound Toyota pickup driven by Garrett E. Graupner, 49. Graupner’s 9-year-old son was among those injured.
Graupner will be cited for inattentive driving and failure to wear a seat belt, said ISP Trooper Teresa Baker.
Two hurt in collision of SUV, dump truck
A Post Falls woman was seriously injured when the sport utility vehicle she was driving collided with a dump truck loaded with gravel north of Hayden on Thursday afternoon.
Regina L. Rodda, 26, was headed south on Atlas Road around 4 p.m. when she ran a stop sign at Boekel Road, a news release from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said. The 2011 GMC Acadia she was driving collided with a 1981 Mack dump truck.
The dump truck, driven by Robert B. Jones, 47, of Rathdrum, hit the Acadia at the back half of the driver’s door. The Acadia then rolled onto its passenger side, the release said. Northern Lakes Fire Department crews extricated Rodda.
Both drivers were taken to Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene. Jones was treated for minor injuries and released. Rodda was listed in serious but stable condition, the release said.
Neither excessive speed nor alcohol appears to be a factor in the crash.
Online drive to fund wildlife detection tests
The Nature Conservancy will kick off an online fundraising effort Monday to secure $10,000 for additional testing of a wildlife detection system aimed at reducing animal-vehicle collisions in Boundary County.
The money would help pay for equipment and four months of data collection, said Lisa Eller, a Nature Conservancy spokeswoman.
The nonprofit has been working with the Idaho Transportation Department and the Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative to reduce the collisions. The groups have contracted with Sloan Security Technologies of Boise, which uses Doppler radar to spot animals approaching the highway, triggering a flashing warning light.