Man held in jail dies after surgery
A 39-year-old man who was assaulted Thursday by a family that accused him of a sex crime, and who fought with deputies at the Spokane County Jail, died Sunday after surgery for internal injuries, according to authorities.
Detectives from the Spokane Police Department will investigate whether Thursday’s beating led to the death of Benites Saimon Sichiro, according to a news release from Cpl. Dave Reagan, Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
Sichiro was jailed Thursday night as a suspect in a sexual assault. He showed signs of alcohol withdrawal at 6:50 a.m. Sunday, fought with deputies and later lost consciousness, Reagan wrote.
Paramedics performed CPR en route to Deaconess Medical Center. There, after Sichiro’s condition initially stabilized, doctors diagnosed the internal bleeding and operated.
Reagan said Sichiro underwent a medical screening when he was booked into jail, a standard procedure. An autopsy is planned.
Katamichy Rudolph said his uncle was a native of Micronesia and moved to Spokane about 10 years ago. Sichiro worked in The Spokesman-Review pressroom several years ago, Rudolph said, and was homeless the last few months of his life.
Sichiro had a 13-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son, Rudolph said.
No details were available Sunday about the incident that led to Sichiro’s arrest or the reported assault.
Driver named in I-90 accident
Idaho State Police have identified the truck driver arrested in a Saturday accident that snarled traffic on Interstate 90.
Mustafa Dzafic, 50, of Spokane, was charged with reckless driving, having a false log book and being a disqualified driver, which means he has violated federal laws for commercial vehicles, police said.
Dzafic was hauling plastic boxes east when he hit a median barrier near Mullan at 2:18 p.m., police said in a news release.
The rig’s tractor traveled 268 feet on top of the barrier before coming to a stop. Police said the trailer blocked the inside east- and westbound lanes for about four hours.
The Idaho Transportation Department cleaned up about 150 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled from the truck.
Amtrak service back on track
A damaged stretch of single main-line railroad track in Eastern Washington – closed for repairs after an Amtrak train derailment – reopened after about 30 hours at 7 a.m. Sunday.
The first train to use the repaired track was an empty eastbound grain train, said Seattle-based Gus Melonas with BNSF Railway, which owns and maintains the track.
There were no serious injuries when the Chicago-bound Amtrak passenger train derailed early Saturday about 45 miles west of Spokane. BNSF crews had the locomotive and four cars rerailed by nightfall and then worked through the night to repair the track, Melonas said. The passenger cars were placed on a siderail in nearby Sprague for assessment and repair, he said.
The derailed train was covering the Empire Builder route between Chicago and Portland, which offers one eastbound and one westbound train daily. Passengers from the derailed train were bused to Spokane hotels before dawn Saturday and took the Saturday night train to the Midwest.
Empire Builder passengers will be bused between Spokane and Portland on Sunday, with normal service resuming today, said Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell.
The cause of the derailment is under investigation, Melonas said.
Valley woman dies in crash
A 43-year-old Spokane Valley woman was killed Sunday in a car accident on U.S. Highway 395 near Jump-off Joe Lake.
Roxanne Hayes was northbound when her 1994 Kia left the road and hit trees about 3 p.m., the Washington State Patrol said in a news release.
Alcohol was not involved, WSP said. The accident remains under investigation.