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

2 killed in crash on Highway 95

Two young men died and a third — the only one wearing a seatbelt — suffered minor injuries when a pickup truck left the road and hit a tree on U.S. Highway 95 north of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, at about 2 a.m. Friday, the Idaho State Police reported.

The survivor, identified as 16-year-old Ronald Clemmons, told troopers he put on a seatbelt about 30 seconds before the crash.

“His injuries were caused by the seatbelt that saved his life. You can see the weave of the fabric on his skin,” ISP Cpl. Brian Zimmerman said.

Killed in the crash were 25-year-old Derrick Justice of Naples, identified as the driver, and 16-year-old Casey Bennett of Bonners Ferry. Clemmons is also from Bonners Ferry.

According to an ISP report, Justice was driving a 1989 Ford pickup truck south on Highway 95, a few miles northeast of the junction with state Highway 1. The three young men had been visiting friends at a house about a mile farther north on Highway 95 and were headed home just before 2 a.m.

They were sitting three abreast on the pickup’s bench seat, Zimmerman said. Clemmons told troopers he was getting nervous about Justice’s erratic driving and decided to fasten his seatbelt. There were seatbelts available for all three people, ISP said.

At a curve near the top of the Copeland Hill, the pickup drifted onto the right shoulder, an ISP report said. It appeared the driver overcorrected and the truck crossed the roadway and smashed into a tree on the other side.

The ISP report said alcohol is a factor in the crash.