Jury Convicts Driver In Highway Deaths Post Falls Man Faces Up To 20 Years For Wreck That Killed Troy Couple

Sun., March 5, 2000

By Thomas Clouse tomc@spokesman.com (509) 459-5495

A jury deliberated three hours late Friday before returning guilty verdicts on two counts of vehicular manslaughter against a Post Falls man.

Timothy Peterson, 26, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison after the jury ruled he was responsible for deaths of a Troy couple last year on U.S. Highway 95.

Kama Herndon, 18, was driving her fiance, Justen Law, 22, on April 23 to Coeur d’Alene to look for better jobs.

Peterson was driving his 1993 Ford pickup south on the highway when he began passing motorists in a no-passing zone, Kootenai County prosecutors said.

Herndon, who was driving a 1992 Ford Probe, veered to the right to avoid Peterson, who was approaching in the wrong lane.

Herndon overcorrected, lost control and was hit by Peterson’s truck.

Law and Herndon were partially ejected from the car and died at the scene, Idaho State Police Trooper Taj Wilkerson said.

The prosecution said Peterson’s bloodalcohol content was .15 percent, almost double the legal limit. Witnesses said Peterson was speeding at the time.

Peterson’s attorney, Scot Nass, acknowledged Peterson had been drinking. But he argued in court that the crash resulted from Herndon losing control of the Probe.

Wilkerson said the jury started deliberating the case at 8 p.m. Friday and returned at 11 p.m. with the verdict.

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