Five hurt, one killed in boating accident

Sat., July 26, 2008

A boating accident at Banks Lake south of Grand Coulee on Friday killed a Federal Way man and seriously injured his wife.

Victor and Olga Prokhor were operating a personal watercraft on the north side of the lake in Steamboat State Park when it struck the right front corner of a boat pulling an inner tube with three people, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

Four of the boat’s six passengers, three young children and a 16-year-old girl, were ejected and later treated for minor injuries. All were wearing life jackets.

Victor Prokhor was taken to Coulee Community Hospital in Grand Coulee, where he was pronounced dead about 10 a.m. Olga Prokhor was in serious but stable condition, according to a news release.

Post falls

Overturned boat blocks interstate

A flipped boat blocked eastbound Interstate 90 on Thursday night in Post Falls after a Spokane man rolled his 2007 Chevy Tahoe, snapping its trailer hitch.

Kenneth N. Dieter, 43, was westbound on I-90 hauling his 30-foot, 2008 Prestige boat with his wife and three children around 11 p.m. when he lost control of the Tahoe after the trailer slightly fishtailed, according to the Idaho State Police.

The boat landed on its top in the eastbound lanes near milepost 7, blocking the lanes for about three hours. Alcohol was believed to be a factor, according to the ISP.

Son disputes story of grader crash

The son of the man seriously injured by a road grader north of Post Falls Wednesday told deputies he doesn’t believe his father was test driving the machine as authorities originally suspected.

Jay D. Peterson, 53, of Post Falls, remains in the trauma center at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release that the man was looking to buy the grader and may have been test driving it when it crashed and pinned him on Mellick Road, about 2 1/2 miles south of Schilling Loop near Post Falls.

But his son, Jay D. Peterson Jr., told authorities his father is on disability and didn’t have the money for such a purchase, according to a report filed by Deputy C.J Case. He said his father told him earlier that day that he was to do work for a friend, according to the report, but didn’t name the friend.

The grader’s owner, John W. Mack, had called police and said he found Peterson pinned after the man drove it off to test it because he was thinking about buying it, according to the report.

The investigation is ongoing.

Spokane county

Patrols will watch for life jacket use

The Spokane County sheriff’s marine unit will patrol the Spokane River today looking for life jacket violations.

County ordinance requires water recreationists wear a life jacket on any moving water in Spokane County. Tickets start at $76, and the violators can be arrested if they fail to cooperate, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The ordinance applies to anyone on the water riding an inner tube or other floating device.

From staff reports

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