In brief: Scene of brush fire reveals body
Police are investigating the discovery of a partially burned body found Friday night at the scene of a brush fire at Riverside State Park.
The identity of the man, who is in his 20s, was being withheld Saturday pending the notification of relatives. Sgt. Joe Peterson of the Spokane Police Department said that while it’s early in the investigation, it appears the man did not die of natural causes or as the result of an accident.
But he said he couldn’t characterize the death further and emphasized he wasn’t calling it a homicide.
The man was found around midnight on Friday, when park rangers on routine patrol came upon a small brush fire about a mile north of the Bowl and Pitcher. The fire burned on a small hillside between the road and the Spokane River, and the body was found near the river.
It was not clear what role the fire played in the man’s death.
Woman dies after being struck by car
A 65-year-old woman died late Friday after being struck by an auto in the 1300 block of East Sprague Avenue, police said.
Few details were available Saturday, but the collision occurred shortly before 10 p.m. Friday, and alcohol didn’t appear to be involved during the initial investigation, the Spokane Police Department said in a news release.
The woman was taken to a hospital, and police were notified of her death about midnight.
Information sought on fugitive
Spokane police appealed Saturday for information about a fugitive gang member who is believed to have eluded capture Friday when police were unable to obtain a search warrant.
Tim Lucious, 36, was thought to be armed with a gun and holed up in a house near Eighth Avenue and Chandler Street when bail bondsmen called police for assistance in capturing the convicted felon.
Before police could obtain a warrant to enter the home, a relative who had warned that Lucious was armed changed her story and said two women took all the guns in the house when they left. Officer William Hager said police couldn’t obtain a warrant without evidence that Lucious was armed and without being positive he was in the house.
The house wasn’t Lucious’ home, and he was wanted only on misdemeanor warrants charging domestic violence and theft, Hager noted.
The bail bondsmen didn’t need a warrant and police could have followed them as backup, but Hager said the Aladdin Bail Bonds employees considered the situation too dangerous.
Anyone with information about Lucious should call (509) 242-TIPS or 911, Hager said.
Woman burned by cigarette fire
An 81-year-old woman suffered first-degree burns and minor smoke inhalation after a Friday night fire caused by smoking in her apartment, fire officials said.
The fire did extensive damage to the apartment and smoke damage to surrounding units at the Parson’s Apartments, 1711 W. 10th Ave., with loss estimates at $45,000 Saturday. The Spokane Fire Department quickly put out the second-story blaze after it was reported around 6:30 p.m. Friday, the department said in a news release.
The apparent cause, the department said, was smoking in the apartment, which ignited a home oxygen system.
The tenant escaped by the time firefighters arrived and was treated at a local hospital. Another man was treated for minor smoke inhalation.
Shuttle visible from Earth
Fans of McCall, Idaho, teacher Barbara Morgan can keep an eye on her while she orbits the Earth during her 14-day space shuttle mission.
The shuttle Endeavour and International Space Station can be spotted in the night sky one to three times each day.
The spacecraft will appear fairly low in the northwest sky on each of the orbits and then traverse into the northeast sky over a period of less than one minute to three minutes from tonight through Monday. A schedule of the potential sightings is on the NASA Web site at spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/ sightings/index.html. The next appearances will be at 9:42 and 11:15 tonight and 10:04 p.m. Monday.
Spokane Valley
Driver arrested in fatal ATV crash
A 38-year-old Spokane Valley man died late Friday after being thrown off the back of an ATV, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department said.
The driver, 21-year-old Ashley Bacon, of Newman Lake, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide.
Investigators said that the man who died, who was not identified pending notification of relatives, was riding on the back of an ATV in the 26700 block of Hauser Lake Road shortly before midnight Friday when he was thrown from the bike after a sharp turn. He likely suffered fatal head injuries in the crash, officials said.
Bacon was released after the crash pending further investigation and toxicology reports, but the sheriff’s department said that neither passenger on the bike was wearing a helmet, and both had apparently been drinking before the wreck.
Colfax
Crash with truck kills woman
A 21-year-old Bonney Lake woman died Saturday following a collision about 11 a.m. between a car and a hay truck west of Colfax on state Highway 26, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Cassey M. Elliott was eastbound in a 1998 Dodge Stratus when she crossed the centerline and crashed head-on into a westbound 2002 Kenworth tractor-trailer driven by Andrew L. Hennigar, 27, of Colfax, the state patrol said.
Hennigar’s cargo of hay caught fire, engulfing the vehicle. Debris from that collision slightly damaged a 2004 Chevrolet Suburban being driven by Eric S. Malone, of Bellevue.
According to a release from the state patrol, cause of the crash was due to driver inattention.
From staff and wire reports