Man killed in log truck crash

NAPLES, Idaho – A Moscow, Idaho, man died and his mother was critically injured when an unloaded logging truck came over a rise and slammed into the back of their car, which had stopped behind an ambulance in the northbound lanes of U.S. Highway 95 just south of here Wednesday afternoon.

The logging truck spun the 1994 Dodge Spirit off the highway and then buried itself in the back of the ambulance.

“It was quite a sight to see the grille of the logging truck halfway up the gurney” in the ambulance, Idaho State Police Cpl. Brian Zimmerman said. Nobody was in the back of the ambulance.

Zimmerman identified the victim as 63-year-old James Coats, who was driving the Dodge, which had its back end pushed nearly into the front seat. His mother, 93-year-old Lenora Coats, was flown by medical helicopter to Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane, where she was listed in critical condition Wednesday night, a nursing supervisor said. A dog riding in the back seat of the Coats’ vehicle also died.

According to preliminary reports, Zimmerman said, it appears the northbound ambulance, staffed by two emergency medical technicians, stopped in the northbound lane of Highway 95 to remove metal debris from the roadway.

“They stopped in the middle of the road and turned on their flashers to remove a hazard – an 8-inch swirl fan from a furnace,” Zimmerman said. “They were doing the good Samaritan thing in their mind. It’s not a good idea to stop in the middle of the road, especially with a hill behind them.”

The ambulance was driven by 40-year-old Vickie Hamilton, of Bonners Ferry. Hamilton suffered apparently minor injuries. She was treated and released at Boundary Community Hospital in Bonners Ferry, a hospital staffer said.

Her passenger, 54-year-old Regina Sherman, had gotten out of the ambulance to get the fan off the roadway. She was uninjured, ISP reported.

The two EMTs are believed to have performed first aid on Lenora Coats until other emergency personnel arrived. The 74-year-old driver of the log truck, Norman Marek, of St. Maries, was uninjured. Zimmerman said it did not appear speed was a factor in the crash. No citations have been issued, he said.

The 1 p.m. accident created a traffic snarl that lasted until after 5 p.m. At one point, the line of stopped cars stretched five miles.