Regional news
3 hurt in Highway 290 crash
Three people were critically injured and a highway was closed for nearly four hours Sunday after a head-on collision near Newman Lake. Ronald D. Baker, of Orofino, Idaho, was westbound on state Highway 290 at about 5 p.m. when he attempted to pass another westbound vehicle between Starr and McKenzie roads, the Washington State Patrol said. Baker’s Chevrolet Blazer hit an eastbound truck and travel trailer driven by Rod H. Wolff of Newman Lake, who had tried to avoid the Blazer by pulling off the road, troopers said. The Blazer then collided head-on with a Chevrolet Lumina driven by Roger E. Hansen of Coeur d’Alene, who was traveling eastbound behind the truck and trailer, said trooper Robert Noack. Baker, 31, was airlifted by MedStar to Deaconess Medical Center, Noack said. Roger Hansen, 54, and passenger Carol Hansen, 41, also were taken to the hospital. All three had to be extricated from their vehicles, and Noack said he believes all their injuries were critical. Wolff, 42, and a passenger of the truck were not injured. Baker may face criminal charges, Noack said. Witnesses said Baker had been attempting to pass the car for several miles. Noack would not speculate whether drugs or alcohol were a factor, but he did say the man appeared “delirious.”
Police warn about phone scam
Spokane Police want the public to be aware of a telephone scam. A man told police that a caller said he could receive a government grant for up to $25,000 by simply giving them his bank account information, said Dick Cottam, police spokesman. The man hung up and called police. Several similar calls have been reported recently. The grant relates to a flood insurance program that allows peanut farmers to get money for flood losses. The grant does not involve giving out bank account or other financial information, Cottam said. Anyone who receives a similar phone call should contact Crime Check at 456-2233.
SWAT team acts; suspect not there
Kennewick A police SWAT team Sunday surrounded the home of a man sought in the shooting deaths of his in-laws, but came up empty. James T. Moran, 32, “was not in the house,” Sgt. Scott Child said. Authorities zeroed in on the residence after a car Moran had been driving – a white Pontiac Grand Am with Wyoming plates – was spotted nearby about 4 a.m. SWAT team members called out to Moran and when they got no response, fired tear gas and other chemical agents into the home, Child said. A search later determined he was not there. Moran is the subject of an arrest warrant seeking him for investigation of first-degree murder in the Friday shooting deaths of his wife’s parents, Glenn Dale Carr, 57, and his wife, Debra Jolene Carr, 50. There’s no indication Moran has left the Tri-Cities area, Child said.