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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Two suspected DUI crashes in two days cause death, serious injury

At 7:00 a.m., police are finishing their investigation and preparing to clear southbound lanes of the Maple Street Bridge Wednesday morning. The bridge is usually clogged with southbound traffic but drivers were forced to detour, some on Broadway, seen above.  (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)

Suspected drunken drivers have caused two serious car crashes that blocked busy roads for hours in the last two days.

A car accident resulting in the death of the driver’s mother closed the southbound lanes of the Maple Street Bridge during the Wednesday morning commute. A day earlier, a wrong-way driver caused a five-car crash on Interstate 90 in downtown Spokane.

Christopher T. Nelson, 27, crashed into a bridge abutment on Maple Street around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, police spokeswoman Officer Teresa Fuller said. Both alcohol and speed appeared to be factors in the collision.

Carrah C. Goble, 24, drove westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-90 near Division Street just before 6 a.m. Tuesday. She fled the scene, but police quickly caught up to her, and said she appeared to be intoxicated, according to court records.

Nelson’s accident occurred seven hours after he posted $2,000 bond to get out of the Kootenai County Jail. He’d been arrested Tuesday on a 2014 warrant for failing to appear in court on a citation for driving with a suspended license, said Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Stu Miller.

Miller said Nelson has an extensive criminal record in Kootenai County, with convictions for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, disturbing the peace and several instances of driving without a license. Nelson was arrested multiple times in 2012, 2010 and 2008 for probation violations, Miller said.

Nelson also was arrested on suspicion on domestic violence assault and injury of a child in 2011, but the charges were dropped.

Spokane police said Nelson smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes and couldn’t stand without swaying, according to court documents. He had a blood alcohol content of 0.149, well above the legal limit of 0.08.

His mother was in the front passenger seat and was unconscious at the scene. Doctors told police she had a severe head injury, according to court documents. A nursing supervisor at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center confirmed late Wednesday that Nelson’s mother, Nancy Wennstrom, died of her injuries.

Police estimate that Nelson’s car slid for more than 350 feet before slamming into the bridge abutment with the passenger side of his car.

Nelson’s brother, John Waters, asked for leniency when Nelson appeared in court Wednesday, saying the family needed Nelson to help with their mother’s condition.

“He is a very great man,” said Waters. “His family needs him.”

The prosecutor’s office asked for a $100,000 bond on a charge of vehicular assault, but Nelson’s attorney argued that his client takes care of his 1-year-old child while his girlfriend attends college and has a limited criminal history.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor said that while the crash is serious, the bond requested by prosecutors was “substantially more than is necessary.” She set Nelson’s bond at $10,000 but ordered an ignition interlock device be installed on Nelson’s car and continuous alcohol monitoring, as requested by the prosecutor.

In the crash on I-90 early Tuesday, Goble admitted to police that she had had “a few beers,” according to court documents. She was described as having bloodshot eyes, slurring her speech and smelling of alcohol. She failed field sobriety tests and a sample of her blood was taken to determine her level of intoxication, according to court documents.

She had broken glass in her hair, blood and scratches on her arms and chest and a red mark on her shoulder likely caused by her seat belt, according to court documents.

Goble told police that she had just left her friend’s home even though her friends told her that she should not be driving, according to court documents. She told police that after the crash, she got a ride to a convenience store from a passing driver, then called her boyfriend for a ride home because she was “flustered.”

One of the drivers involved in the crash was ejected from his car after it rolled. He has life-threatening injuries that include swelling of the brain, according to court documents.

Goble is facing charges of vehicular assault and leaving the scene of an accident. Her bond was set at $100,000 during a brief court appearance Wednesday, after her attorney did not contest the prosecutor’s request and reserved the right to argue the bond amount at a later date. She is also required to install an ignition interlock device on her car and must submit to 24/7 alcohol monitoring.

She pleaded guilty to felony theft in 2010 after she stole her mother’s debit card and used it to pay for a hotel room and several items for herself and her friends.