Woman Killed, Man Hurt In Separate Crashes Dnr Responds To 16 Small Blazes During Fourth Of July Weekend
A woman was killed and a man seriously injured in separate car accidents Sunday in the Spokane Valley.
The crashes were a somber ending to a long Fourth of July weekend that police in Spokane and North Idaho said was relatively peaceful.
Roads were clear and dry when 73-year-old Lois E. Harrison of Spokane died in a 1:25 p.m. crash, authorities said.
Her elderly husband was driving when their Plymouth Acclaim swerved into oncoming traffic on East Trent in the Valley, authorities said. The car was hit by a Jeep Comanche.
George C. Harrison, 83, was treated for injuries at Sacred Heart Medical Center. The driver of the other car was not hospitalized.
Also Sunday, at 15900 E. Sprague just east of Sullivan Road, Paul A. Nichols, 41, of Greenacres suffered major injuries when his Ford Van crossed the center line, hit a cement island and then a steel billboard beam.
Nichols was ejected from the van. He was listed in critical condition Sunday night at Sacred Heart.
The state Department of Natural Resources responded to more than 16 small fires over the holiday weekend, said dispatcher Lou Markee.
The largest was a 16-acre blaze Friday near Chamokane Falls in the Long Lake area.
“Lightning and storms moved through, and there were also people with fireworks. That would explain most of the fires,” Markee said.
Smaller fires Sunday were also reported in Airway Heights and in a field along Day-Mt. Spokane Road near Freya.
The weekend’s worst blaze, on Friday morning, claimed the life of Al Reines, 90. Fire officials said fireworks may have started the fire in his rental house at 1628 E. Hartson.
In Kootenai County, three people were arrested for boating while intoxicated. Lake traffic was heavy, but typical for an Independence Day weekend, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Soumas.
In Coeur d’Alene Thursday, police and sheriff’s deputies wrestled with a slew of rowdy partiers.
Compared to that, police said Sunday, the weekend was positively peaceful.
“We’ve had a few DUIs this weekend, complaints about drinking and people being rowdy in the campgrounds. But it was nothing we couldn’t handle nice and quick,” said Bonner County Sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Lindstrom.
The one-day gap between the Thursday holiday and the weekend may have put the brakes on some of the hard partiers, he said. Many had to go to work Friday.
“I think that took a lot of the wind out of people’s sails,” Lindstrom said.
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Bruce Krasnow Staff writer Staff writer Rich Roesler contributed to this report.