Man fleeing cops damages CDA airport fuel pump

A convicted felon is accused of fleeing from law enforcement and crashing his vehicle into a fuel pump depot at the Coeur d’Alene Airport early this morning. The crash caused about $40,000 in damage and spilled about a gallon of aviation fuel. An earlier report said 200 gallons of fuel spilled. Jared Salamina, 22, of Athol, has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident, failure to report a crash and reckless driving, all of which are misdemeanors. A release from the Kootenai County sheriff’s office said a deputy witnessed the driver of a black Honda Civic blow through a stop sign around 1 a.m. in Hayden. After initially failing to pull over, the vehicle stopped a few blocks away, but took off again as the officer approached the car on foot. The deputy initially pursued the car but stopped due to excessive speeds and poor weather conditions, the release said. Using the license plate and a description of the driver, deputies believed Salamina was the driver. Around 4:30 a.m., the department received an anonymous phone call from a woman who said she picked up a man and took him to his parents’ house after he had crashed his car. She said the parents were planning on taking him to the hospital. Officers searched for the car and eventually found it had gone through a fence at the airport and crashed into the fuel pump. Fire crews and airport personnel dealt with the damage. Deputies located Salamina and his mother driving south on U.S. Highway 95 near Garwood, the release said. Salamina was detained and transported to the Kootenai Medical Center and then the Kootenai County Jail. Bond for the misdemeanor charges was set at $900. Felony charges are pending for eluding and probation violations from previous drug-related convictions, according to the release.