Liberty Lake crash injures two
A Liberty Lake resident was in critical condition Wednesday after the car she was riding in collided with an SUV.
Janet M. Hooper was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center, along with her husband, John E. Hooper, who was listed in satisfactory condition. The driver of the Lincoln Navigator, Paige E. Spurlock-Leifer, of Coeur d’Alene, 38, was not injured.
The accident occurred at the intersection of Liberty Lake Road and Country Vista Drive, which was shut down for about an hour.
John Hooper, 76, was driving a 1985 Oldsmobile. The passenger side was caved in, and firefighters had to peel back the roof and cut off the doors to extract Janet Hooper, whose 73rd birthday was Wednesday.
A MedStar helicopter landed in the middle of the road to rush her to the hospital, attracting a crowd and confusing some drivers who wanted to get through the intersection.
“She got hurt pretty bad,” said Lt. Terry Odom of Spokane Valley Fire Department.
There was dispute about how the accident happened, said Sgt. Ray Bourgeois of the Liberty Lake Police Department. The Navigator was eastbound on Country Vista Drive and the Oldsmobile was westbound on Country Vista, turning south on Liberty Lake Road. Both drivers apparently thought they had a green light, Bourgeois said. The turn lane in that intersection has its own light. “We don’t quite know what happened,” he said. “We’ve got four different witnesses saying different things.”
Officer Clint Gibson just missed witnessing the accident, arriving only seconds after the collision. “I saw the cars spinning,” he said.
Both cars ended up facing west in the southern crosswalk. Gibson said Spurlock-Leifer said she didn’t see the Oldsmobile until just before she hit it but had time to brake.
“I didn’t see a skid (mark), but the Navigator is equipped with anti-lock brakes” and might not leave a mark, Gibson said.
An accident reconstructionist will likely help with the investigation, Gibson said. Police have not yet decided if either driver should be cited for a traffic infraction.