Wreck near Deer Park kills woman, 57
A Spokane Valley woman was killed Saturday afternoon when the car she was in collided head-on with a pickup east of Deer Park.
The crash happened about 4 p.m. just east of Vista Point Lane on Deer Park-Milan Road.
The woman was westbound on Deer Park-Milan in a Toyota Matrix. A witness of the crash told deputies that near a curve in the road, an eastbound Dodge pickup drifted into her lane and struck her car head-on, said Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Brooks.
The driver of the pickup, Robert H. Kiefer, 72, who lives within a couple of miles of the crash site, was taken to a hospital but didn’t appear to suffer any serious injuries, Brooks said. The Toyota’s driver, who was 57, died at the scene. Her name was not released by Sheriff’s officials.
Both drivers were wearing seat belts.
No citations were issued Saturday evening in relation to the crash, said sheriff’s spokesman Dave Reagan in a press release.
Early-morning blaze leaves 11 homeless
A woman jumped from the roof of a two-story house Saturday during an early-morning blaze that left 11 people homeless.
The woman was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, said Bob Green, a Spokane Fire Department battalion chief. Six other residents of the home, which contained several apartments, were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
The fire started about 3:36 a.m. in the upper level of the older two-story home, Green said. The fire gutted the second story and the bottom level sustained damage as firefighters extinguished hot spots in the ceiling.
The cause of the blaze at 802 N. Oak St. remains under investigation, Green said.
The Red Cross was on the scene to assist the families.
Reward offered for tips on man sought by ATF
A cash reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of a man wanted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on a weapons charge.
Kevin Wesley Nichols, 21, is wanted for possessing a stolen firearm and for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Nichols is 5 feet, 11 inches and 150 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information about Nichols can call Secret Witness at 327-5111. Callers do not have to use their name to be eligible for the reward.
Arbitrator hands pilots, Alaska Airlines a contract
Seattle After a year and a half of failed negotiations and four months of arbitration, Alaska Airlines and its pilots have a contract, the company announced Saturday.
Arbitrator Richard Kasher handed the agreement, which goes into effect beginning today, to the airline and the Air Line Pilots Association on Saturday, said company spokesman Lou Cancelmi.
ALPA and the airline began contract talks in October 2003 and called in an arbitrator when they failed to reach an agreement by a Dec. 15, 2004, deadline. The sticking points were pay, retirement and insurance. The terms of the new contract include an approximate 26 percent reduction in pilot wages and higher employee health care contributions, the company said. No changes were made to the pilots’ pension or profit-sharing plans. Additional details were not available.
Alaska Airlines, the nation’s ninth largest carrier, employs 1,465 pilots.