4 sent to hospital after car collision

A two-vehicle crash on Liberty Lake Road and Appleway Avenue sent four people to hospitals and one to jail Monday, and snarled traffic at a busy intersection for at least an hour.

Driving north on Liberty Lake, the driver of a Toyota Corolla tried to turn onto Interstate 90 from the wrong lane, cutting off a southbound Buick sedan, said Officer Taj Wilkerson of the Liberty Lake Police Department. The two cars collided, and the Corolla spun around and overturned, coming to rest on its roof.

There were three people in the Corolla and two in the Buick. Three were transported to Valley Hospital and Medical Center with minor injuries, and another was taken to Deaconess Medical Center for trauma care, Wilkerson said. Their names and conditions were unavailable late Monday.

The driver was treated on the scene, escaping a trip to the hospital. But he got a trip to jail after being arrested on a DUI charge, said Wilkerson.

DAYTON, Wash.

Fugitive caught in Nicaragua

A Dayton man accused of criminal sexual conduct with young girls has been captured in Nicaragua and returned to the United States.

Stanley Melvin Long, 56, was arrested Thursday when he crossed into Nicaragua from Costa Rica, where he had been hiding for two years, the U.S. State Department said Monday.

Authorities there agreed to deport Long, and he was transported to the United States on Sunday. He is being held in Harris County, Texas.

Long has been charged with third-degree rape of a child and 57 related charges in Columbia County Superior Court. The charges were filed July 1, 2005, after a two-year investigation, Columbia County Sheriff Walt Hessler said.

Long also faces a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He already appeared before a federal magistrate on that charge and waived extradition, Hessler said. He will make a mandatory court appearance today, after which he will be transported to Dayton, about 60 miles east of the Tri-Cities.