In brief: CdA woman remains critical after crash

An 82-year-old Coeur d’Alene woman remains in critical condition after a semi-truck crashed into the car she was riding in late Tuesday near Loon Lake, Wash.

About 4:30 p.m., Florance L. Westgaard was riding in a Toyota Echo on Garden Spot Road at U.S. Highway 395, according to a Washington State Patrol report. The driver of the car was 65-year-old Donald H. Hodge, of Otis Orchards.

In the southbound lane of Highway 395, a semi-truck crushed the Toyota and rammed it into a Subaru Impreza driven by 16-year-old Lindsey L. Buffington, of Loon Lake, the report states.

Westgaard was airlifted to Sacred Heart Medical Center. Hodge was taken by ambulance to Sacred Heart, where he was treated and released.

Buffington suffered minor injuries but was not transported – as was the truck driver, 60-year-old Kenneth M. Comstock, of Vancouver, Wash., the report states.

Authorities closed Highway 395 in both directions for about two hours while crews cleared the scene, and the highway was completely open by 8:20 p.m.

The state patrol report was unclear as to how the crash occurred.

– Staff reports

Coeur d’Alene

Officer shoots, wounds Rottweiler

A Coeur d’Alene police officer fired two shots at a dog on Saturday, injuring the animal.

The officer was responding to a verbal argument between a man and a woman in the 1300 block of East Young Avenue about noon when a pet Rottweiler came bounding through the front door and leapt to attack.

“He was headed straight for the officer,” Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Christie Wood said. “The two parties involved didn’t bother to restrain the dog.”

The officer shot the dog in the chest and the hind leg. Animal control officers took the Rottweiler to Alpine Animal Hospital. The dog was then treated at North Idaho Pet Emergency clinic in Post Falls.

“The dog’s fine,” Wood said.

The names of the dog’s owners were not released because no arrests were made in the domestic dispute.

– Melissa Pamer

Mount Vernon, Wash.

Fireworks attendant injured by explosion

A man helping to set off a fireworks show at Big Lake east of Mount Vernon was burned when a shell exploded on the fireworks barge, authorities said.

Big Lake Fire Chief Brett Berg said one of the fireworks shells exploded in its launching tube about a third of the way through the Tuesday night show. The victim was the closest person to the explosion.

The man, who suffered burns on his hands, face and chest, was taken to Skagit Valley Hospital, then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

About 20,000 people were watching the show when it was cut short by the accident.

– Associated Press

Paradise, Wash.

84-year-old tops Mount Rainier again

An 84-year-old retired plutonium worker says he’s reached the summit of Mount Rainier – for the sixth time.

Bill Painter has made all his ascents of the 14,411-foot mountain since he turned 76, and he’s reached the summit annually since 2004. He made the climb this time with his son, Mark.

The 5-foot-11, 156-pound Painter endured winds as high as 30 mph on his way up the peak via Emmons Glacier on Tuesday.

“My knees are a little tired,” he said. “But in a day or two they’ll feel as good as they ever have.”

About 10,000 people attempt the summit of Washington’s tallest mountain every year, and half make it, a third of those with a trained guide. Rarely are more than one or two a year older than 70 or younger than 10, Mount Rainier National Park officials say.

– Associated Press