Boise woman killed in crash
A Boise woman was killed Wednesday in a three-car crash near Colfax.
Beatrice Irene Windisch, 80, was pronounced dead at the scene, Washington State Patrol officials said. She was a passenger in the car that WSP officials say veered into oncoming traffic while northbound on U.S. Highway 195.
The driver, Sharon R. Martin, 54, of Meridian, Idaho, was taken by air ambulance to Deaconess Medical Center where she is in serious condition.
About 2:45 p.m., Martin, who was driving a Toyota Camry, crossed the double yellow lines into southbound traffic, sideswiping an Acura RSX and crashing head-on into a Chevrolet Tracker, the WSP said.
The Chevrolet driver, 19-year-old Alexander Conboy, of Renton, was taken to Colfax Hospital with minor injuries.
The crash remains under investigation, officials said.
Man files claim over dog’s death
A blind man whose guide dog was struck by a truck and killed has filed a claim of more than $90,000 against the driver and his employer.
Rod Christensen, 61, was walking with his seeing-eye dog, a yellow Labrador retriever named Justice, on July 11, 2006. They were trying to cross the intersection at Rosewood Avenue and Nevada Street when the dog was hit and dragged by a Bark Boys Landscape Supplies Inc. truck driven by Gerald Larson.
According to the claim filed in Spokane County Superior Court this week, Christensen and his lawyer, John F. Bury, claim the truck driver did not do everything possible to avoid hitting a guide dog, a violation of state law. In addition, the driver was in an area where commercial trucks are not allowed unless the business is located within it; Bark Boys Landscaping Supplies is located more than five miles from the neighborhood.
Christensen is seeking $90,631 in damages plus attorney’s fees.
Newman Lake
Squad detonates homemade bomb
The Spokane County bomb squad detonated a homemade bomb Wednesday morning near Newman Lake.
The improvised explosive device was found by a Washington Department of Ecology youth cleaning crew about 9:30 a.m. near the intersection of Trent Avenue and Idaho Road.
Ecology spokeswoman Jani Gilbert described the device as looking like an oil filter, with black tape wrapped around it and a long cloth wick.
Spokane County sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Reagan said the bomb squad shut down Trent Avenue for about five minutes as it exploded the bomb, which contained smokeless black powder.