In brief: Driver killed in truck rollover
Driver killed in truck rollover
A Nine Mile Falls man died Friday night when his truck hit an embankment and rolled over near Emmett, Idaho.
The Idaho State Police said Chris Ehler, 48, was westbound on state Highway 52 near Black Canyon Dam when he lost control of his 2001 Ford F-350.
Ehler was taken by ambulance to Walter Knox Medical Center in Emmett, where he died.
The ISP said Ehler was not wearing a seat belt. Alcohol was probably a factor in the 10:50 p.m. crash, the ISP said.
Spokane
Fire threatens medical building
Spokane firefighters early Saturday doused a trash bin fire that had spread to an adjacent medical office building.
Three engines, two ladder trucks, a rescue truck and 24 firefighters responded to a 1:45 a.m. call at the Grand Pediatrics building at Grand and 14th. Firefighters found flames and heavy smoke at the building’s rear, but saw little fire in the interior after forcing their way in.
Although the fire was working its way through the flat roof joists, firefighters had the flames out before they burned into the inside.
Damage was estimated at $10,000, but most of the building’s contents were preserved, including those in a medical records room.
The cause remains under investigation. A spokesman said there were no other similar fires reported in the area.
Davenport, Wash.
Man ejected in truck crash
A Davenport man was in critical condition at Sacred Heart Medical Center on Saturday after being ejected from his vehicle.
Esteban Plasencia, 32, was eastbound on Highway 2 near Wilbur about 1:45 a.m. when he drifted off the road to the right, overcorrected and drove off the road on the left side, according to a Washington State Patrol report. The Ford F-250 he was driving then rolled.
Plesencia was not wearing a seat belt.
He was transported by MedStar to SHMC.
Drugs or alcohol were a factor in the accident, which totaled the truck, the WSP said.
spokane
Cantwell wants rules on oil futures
High gasoline prices are putting a squeeze on families and driving up the cost of everything from law enforcement to delivering social services, Sen. Maria Cantwell said Saturday.
Cantwell, who met with officials at the Women’s and Children’s Free Restaurant in north Spokane, said nonprofit agencies have been forced to cut back because of rising fuel costs.
One of the causes of rising gasoline prices is the futures market, which is unregulated, Cantwell contended. She wants Congress to regulate oil futures the way it regulates many other futures markets.
“You don’t want to have any markets that don’t have transparency,” she said in an interview during the Washington State Democratic Convention.