In brief: Man killed by car he was working on

A 73-year-old Spokane man was killed Monday while working on his car when the vehicle started and dragged him underneath it, Spokane police said.

Albert Garcia was working on the car’s electrical system and had the vehicle in gear with the keys in the ignition, according to a police news release. The car started and dragged Garcia for about 150 feet, the release said.

The Spokane Fire Department had to jack up the car to extricate Garcia. Spokane police determined it was an accident, the news release said.

Garcia had been working on the car in front of his home near the intersection of Dean Avenue and Nettleton Street.

Addy Hatch

Avista says efficiency rebates are too costly

With wholesale natural gas prices at record lows, Avista wants to suspend a rebate program for customers who install insulation and energy-efficient appliances.

The Spokane-based utility has made the request to state regulators in Washington and Idaho, who have the final say.

Lower prices and abundant supplies of natural gas benefit customers, but they’ve made the rebate program inefficient, said Jason Thackston, an Avista vice president. It costs more to provide the rebates than the value of the savings from reduced natural gas use, he said.

Customers could submit rebates for high-efficiency natural gas furnaces, boilers and insulation in gas-heated homes through Nov. 1. Weatherization programs for low-income gas customers would expire on Dec. 31.

Avista’s natural gas rates would not be affected by phasing out the rebates, said Debbie Simock, an Avista spokeswoman.

The utility could reinstate the rebates when the market changes, Thackston said.

Becky Kramer

Car stolen from woman cleaning it at car wash

A woman was carjacked as she vacuumed her Chevy Camaro at a car wash near Browne’s Addition Saturday night, Spokane police said.

Larry D. Vermillion, 43, is accused by police of stealing the woman’s car at knifepoint from the Brown Bear Car Wash, 1821 W. Sunset Blvd., about 8 p.m., then drunkenly driving through downtown Spokane before colliding with a taxicab.

Vermillion was booked into jail on charges of first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and attempting to elude police.

Meghann M. Cuniff