Woman fatally injured in crash
Moscow, Idaho A 40-year-old Moscow woman was killed early Monday morning after losing control of her car on Thorn Creek Road in Latah County, according to the Idaho State Police.
Shelly R. Reaves, 40, was driving west on the road when her 1983 American Motors Eagle went off the south side of the road shortly before 6 a.m. and rolled, according to the ISP.
Reaves was ejected from the vehicle, but got back in and drove through a wheat field toward U.S. Highway 95, according to the ISP. When the car became stuck in the field, she got out and walked back to Thorn Creek Road. She died of her injuries on the edge of the road, the ISP reported.
Man killed while trying to cross railroad tracks
Seattle A man described by relatives as developmentally disabled was struck and killed by a train while trying to cross the tracks near Safeco Field and Qwest Field, police said.
The man was identified Monday by investigators in the King County medical examiner’s office as Robert Medhaug, 65.
Medhaug, one of several people who began walking onto the tracks Saturday evening after a southbound freight train cleared the crossing at Royal Brougham Way South, was struck by a northbound locomotive, Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman Gus Melonas said.
Medhaug, who had been pushing a shopping cart, died soon afterward at Harborview Medical Center.
The crossing gates were down, warning lights were flashing, the northbound engine was within the 20 mph speed limit and the engineer sounded the horn and “slammed on the brakes in an attempt to stop,” Melonas said.
“When one train passes, people neglect or are unaware that there’s often another train coming on the other track,” he said.
The accident occurred during a Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field and was the first train-related fatality in the area since the stadium was completed in mid-1999, Melonas added.
Police officer allegedly pointed gun at motorist
Kennewick A Kennewick police officer has been charged with second-degree assault, accused of pointing a loaded gun at a motorist delivering meals to senior citizens.
Ryan J. Bonnalie, 29, of West Richland, was charged Monday in Benton County Superior Court.
According to court documents, Bonnalie was arrested by West Richland police on April 1 for investigation of brandishing his service gun at 63-year-old Don Schnell while the officer was off duty. The officer was later fired.
Court papers said Schnell was helping his sister deliver meals to senior citizens as part of the Meals on Wheels program. Bonnalie was driving behind Schnell and became frustrated after Schnell drove slowly and did not use his turn signal.
Bonnalie then waved his arms to get Schnell’s attention. The two cars pulled over and when Schnell went back to Bonnalie’s car, the officer pointed the gun at Schnell and pushed him in the chest, prosecutors alleged in court papers.
Bonnalie was fired from his job with Kennewick police on April 28 after four years with the department. Chief Ken Hohenberg said an internal investigation found clear evidence that Bonnalie broke state laws and department regulations.
Real estate developer sentenced over bonds
Seattle A real estate developer who talked a tiny sewer district into selling $20 million in municipal bonds for a commercial center that was never built has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison.
Three others who were involved with Terry R. Martin, 57, of Mukilteo, in the scheme that ensnared Holmes Harbor Sewer District on Whidbey Island were sentenced to lesser terms Friday in U.S. District Court.
In what Judge Robert S. Lasnik called an “abomination,” Martin talked commissioners of the 270-customer sewer district in Freeland into selling $20 million in municipal bonds in 1999 to support his proposed Silver Sound Corporate Center, a 500,000-square-foot office park near Paine Field in Everett.