Victim identified in fatal car crash in east Spokane

A passenger who died in a one-car rollover crash Tuesday in east Spokane has been identified as Blair Riding, 31. Riding was a passenger in a 2002 Mercury Sable driven by Michael S. Lindsly, 46, when police say Lindsly crashed while speeding on Broadway Avenue at Alki Way about 5:50 a.m. Witnesses said the car appeared to be going at least 70 mph. Police say they smelled alcohol in the car and on Lindsly’s breath. Witnesses said he failed to negotiate the curve at Alki, just east of Freya Street, and the Sable ended up on its top next to a building. Riding, who was wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene. The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Wednesday that he died of blunt trauma to his head, chest, abdomen and pelvis. Riding was released from jail on his own recognizance Monday evening after appearing in Spokane County Superior Court, on charges of possession of a controlled substance and patronizing a prostitute, related to a weekend arrest. Lindsly was treated at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center Tuesday and booked into jail on a vehicular homicide charge. A blood sample has been sent to a state toxicology lab for testing. He has been readmitted to a hospital but still faces a vehicular homicide charge.