In brief: Officials identify house fire victim
A man who died in a fire at a home west of downtown Spokane has been identified as Perry L. Herriman, 45.
The Spokane County medical examiner’s office confirmed Herriman’s identity after an autopsy Monday. Fire officials say Herriman was dead when fire crews found him in the third floor of a burning home at 1914 W. First Ave.
Two other residents were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and burns sustained while escaping the fire.
The fire began in a sofa-style chair in unit 4 on the second floor, said Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer. Schaeffer said he hopes to release the cause of the fire within the next few days.
Fire crews were dispatched to the blaze at 7:58 p.m. and arrived within two minutes to find the house, which had been converted into apartments, engulfed and residents stranded.
Truck driver dies after crossing I-90
A semitruck driver died Monday in North Idaho after sideswiping a car and traveling off Interstate 90, down an embankment and into trees.
Nikolay Kvasha, of Liberty Lake, was driving a 2005 Peterbilt semi westbound near milepost 7 in Post Falls when it drifted into the passing lane about 2:25 p.m. and sideswiped a 2002 Ford Explorer driven by Richard M. Parker, 53, of Spangle, according to the Idaho State Police.
Parker was treated for injuries at the scene; his passenger, Cherie K. Parker, 53, was not injured.
Both vehicles crossed the median; Parker’s Explorer came to rest on the south side of the eastbound lanes while the semitruck continued to the eastbound off-ramp, down an embankment, through a fence and into trees, the ISP said.
Investigators were trying to determine if Kvasha had a medical condition that contributed to him losing control of the truck.
Suspect Tasered, keeps resisting
A man who fled a police chase in the Four Lakes area Sunday was arrested after being shocked several times with a Taser.
Jesse Ray Waldvogel, 25, ran from his car at milepost 267 on Interstate 90 about 5 p.m. as state troopers pursued him in a domestic violence investigation, according to the Washington State Patrol. He was believed to be armed, and law enforcement, including a helicopter and sheriff’s K-9, scoured the area but came up empty.
Waldvogel was arrested about 9:50 p.m. near Medical Lake-Four Lakes Road and Granite Lake Road but freed his right hand from cuffs and struggled with officers while saying “something to the effects of ‘You’re gonna have to kill me!’” according to court documents. He continued to resist after one Taser shock, according to the WSP, so two to three more were applied.
He was booked into jail on charges of attempting to elude police and resisting arrest.
Officials trying to identify remains
Kootenai County sheriff’s detectives are checking missing-person reports from throughout the region following the discovery Saturday morning of human remains along the bank of the Coeur d’Alene River near Rose Lake.
The skeletal remains will be sent to a forensic pathologist and dentist in Spokane to help with identification, said sheriff’s Lt. Stu Miller. At this time, the sex and age of the remains are unknown, along with cause of death.