Two hurt when car hits another with lights off

Two North Idaho residents were injured Saturday after crashing into a car that had stopped in the middle of Interstate 90 with its lights off, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The accident happened at 1:24 a.m. after an eastbound car driven by Andrew J. Simpson of Greenacres veered off the highway at milepost 293 in Spokane Valley. Simpson, 23, got the ‘91 Acura Legend back on the road but came to a stop in the middle of the interstate with the car’s lights off, according to WSP.

A 2000 Dodge Neon, driven by Christina L. Norton of Coeur d’Alene, also was eastbound on I-90 and hit Simpson’s car.

Norton, 25, and passenger Jack E. Striegel, 31, of Post Falls, were injured and transported to Deaconess Medical Center. Norton was listed in satisfactory condition Saturday afternoon. Striegel was treated and released.

Simpson, who wasn’t injured, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular assault, according to WSP. Both drivers have been charged with driving under the influence.

– Virginia de Leon

PRIEST RIVER

Chimney, heat gun suspected in fires

A chimney fire may have been responsible for a blaze that destroyed part of a home Friday afternoon on Sandy Ridge Road, officials said.

The fire was reported around 4 p.m. The home’s occupant, Jane Rea, looked out the window and discovered that the cedar shingles were burning, said Les Kokanos, chief of the West Pend Oreille Fire District. She was able to escape.

When fire crews arrived, one side of the house was on fire, Kokanos said. The house sustained significant smoke and flame damage, he said.

Earlier in the day, the district’s crews responded to a fire smoldering underneath a house on Holly Glen Road. A man using a heat gun to unthaw frozen pipes accidentally started a fire, Kokanos said. Damage was minimal, he said.

– Becky Kramer

SANDPOINT

Man sentenced for planning robbery

An Idaho man who planned to rob the owners of a Newport, Wash., theater has been sentenced to six years in prison.

In March 2005, Terry Lee Randolph, 40, of Priest River tried to enlist an accomplice to rob Roxy Theater owners Richard and Gladys Bishop, a Bonner County jury found.

Prosecutors said Randolph planned to bind and gag the couple in their Spokane home and then break into their safe, reported the Bonner County Daily Bee. But Randolph’s would-be accomplice alerted police to the plan.

First District Judge James Michaud ordered Randolph to serve at least two years before he would be eligible for parole.

“Although no violence was carried out, the threat of violence was possible,” Michaud said.

Randolph said the Department of Corrections and previous judges were to blame for not treating his mental health issues.

Michaud blamed Randolph, who had stopped taking prescription medicines.

– Associated Press