Driver dies after hitting tree

One man is dead after driving into a tree on the South Hill early Saturday.

Spokane police and firefighters were called to 30th Avenue and High Drive about 2 a.m.

Two passengers, who were wearing seat belts at the time of the collision, pulled the driver from the vehicle before it caught fire, police said. One passenger fled the scene.

The 22-year-old driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at Sacred Heart Medical Center. Police did not release his identity.

Police said speed and alcohol were factors.

– Staff reports

Clark Fork, Idaho

Man killed in highway crash

A Sagle man was killed Friday evening in a traffic accident six miles east of Clark Fork on Highway 200.

Ritchie N. Rector, 51, was eastbound when his 1967 Chevy pickup went off the roadway, police said.

Rector overcorrected and came back across both lanes of traffic.

His pickup went up the embankment on the westbound side of the highway, then slid back down. Rector was ejected from the passenger side window and pinned under the pickup, which came to rest on its side, police said. He was not wearing a seat belt.

The accident was reported at 7:42 p.m.

– Becky Kramer

Libby, Mont.

Drive-in won’t be rebuilt

Movies by the carload are a thing of the past in Libby, where the outdoor movie screen that was toppled by a storm last summer won’t be rebuilt.

The reconstruction necessary for the Libby Drive In to meet building codes would cost too much, owner Bert Wilson said.

The National Weather Service said the storm that blew into the Polson area July 19 was a tornado, and the damage extended north and west to Libby.

Winds were reported at 70 to 80 mph.

Building codes would require that a new screen be able to withstand winds of at least 90 mph. That would require a metal screen, which would diminish the drive-in’s historic feel, Wilson said.

– Associated Press