In brief: Unlicensed teen driver causes crash

A 15-year-old driver crashed a car into a power pole Friday night, wrapping the vehicle around the pole and injuring the two passengers inside.

At 11 p.m., Spokane County sheriff’s deputies responded to the crash at 3700 N. Harvard Road, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release. The unlicensed driver had been driving about 100 miles an hour, a 14-year-old boy who was sitting the back seat told deputies.

The 14-year-old received minor injuries, and the 17-year-old who was sitting in the front seat was transported to a local hospital. He was listed in critical condition. The 15-year-old driver was also taken to the hospital, where he was listed in serious condition.

Speed and inexperience were both factors in the crash, the release said. Charges are pending.

Yakima boy, 16, dies from gunshot

A 16-year-old boy died of a gunshot wound in rural Pend Oreille County on Friday.

Sergio M. Tinajero, 16, of Yakima, was found dead near the 1800 block of Deer Valley Park Road around 4 p.m., according to a news release from the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office. The body was found about a quarter-mile down a logging road and 200 yards into the woods.

Tinajero was hunting with family members when he was shot, according to the release. It appeared the boy died of a single gunshot wound.

The investigation is ongoing. The Sheriff’s Office is seeking information from anyone who may have been in the area at the time of the shooting. The office can be reached at (509) 447-3151.

Soldier charged in 2007 war killings

SEATTLE – A U.S. Army soldier has been charged with premeditated murder in the deaths of two civilians during the Iraq War.

A Joint Base Lewis-McChord news release on Friday said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Barbera was charged for the 2007 killings. The charges stem from an investigation into the shootings of two people near the village of As Sadah in Diyala province on March 6, 2007.

Officials said Barbera is currently assigned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska. They said Barbera is not in pretrial confinement, but is awaiting a transfer to the Washington base.

Manhunt ongoing for sword attacker

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Police in southern Oregon are looking for a man they said attacked his brother with a samurai sword Friday.

Preston James Sweaney, 23, got into an argument with his brother in a motor home in Grants Pass and cut him on the arm and side with the sword, police said. Nathaniel Sweaney, 21, was taken to a local hospital. Another man who tried to intervene was cut on the hand.

Preston Sweaney fled on foot wearing jeans and no shirt, police said.