In brief: Man dies in Sunset Hill head-on collision

A man died in a collision on the Sunset Hill late Wednesday and police are investigating the cause.

A 1998 Chevy Blazer was eastbound on Sunset Boulevard and collided head-on with a westbound 2007 Ford Focus near Rosamond Avenue around 9:45 p.m. Both vehicles sustained extensive damage, according to a Spokane police news release.

The 33-year-old man driving the Focus died at the scene. The 23-year-old man driving the Blazer was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.

Names of the drivers were not released by police. Investigators have not determined if speed or alcohol were factors in the crash, the news release said.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or saw one of the vehicles right before the collision is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

The identity of the driver of the Focus will be released by the Spokane County medical examiner after an autopsy.

Car, STA van crash; multiple injuries

A woman was critically injured in downtown Spokane Thursday evening after the Spokane Transit Authority van she was in was struck by a car that witnesses said ran multiple red lights leading up to the crash.

A Subaru sedan was southbound on Browne Street and struck a Nissan Altima and STA Vanpool van at Third Avenue about 7:45 p.m., said Spokane police Lt. J.D. Anderson. The van was eastbound on Third attempting to turn south on Browne to enter the eastbound Interstate 90 ramp.

A woman who was lying down in the van was ejected and critically injured, Anderson said. She was transported to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Anderson said that witnesses reported the Subaru ran red lights at Sprague and Second avenues as well as the light at Third where the crash occurred.

The driver of the Subaru was seriously injured, and police had not been able to talk to him by 10 p.m. Thursday. A drug recognition expert was headed to the hospital to evaluate him, Anderson said. Other passengers and drivers were not seriously hurt but were transported to a hospital as a precaution.

Anderson said there were four or five passengers in the van.

Another tremor felt in Okanogan area

A third earthquake aftershock was reported in Okanogan County early Thursday following a larger quake and two other aftershocks on Monday.

The epicenter for all three quakes was 25 miles north of Grand Coulee.

The initial quake was magnitude 4.3 and could be easily felt in Grand Coulee. A resident of Springdale in Stevens County reported feeling the tremor, too. It was considered a moderate quake and caused no reported damage. That quake was about 6 miles deep and ruptured along about a mile-long fault line, scientists said.

The third aftershock at 12:42 a.m. on Thursday was measured at magnitude 2.2 at just over a half mile in depth. However, the locations given by seismometers were considered imprecise.

Scientists said additional tremors were possible because of the size of the initial quake.

Firefighters contain Tucannon fire

A fire that burned more than 2,600 acres in Columbia County is now contained, the Washington State Patrol said Thursday.

The Tucannon fire started during a wind storm on Saturday about 20 miles east of Dayton, Washington. Crews from Columbia and Garfield counties, as well as the state Department of Natural Resources and other state agencies, worked to contain the fire. No structures were lost during the fire.

The cause is still under investigation.