In brief: Woman says two men attempted rape at fair

A woman told police that she was attacked by two men who tried to rape her in the parking lot of the Kootenai County Fairgrounds Thursday night.

The 26-year-old woman said she’d just finished her shift at a fair vendor booth and was walking alone to her vehicle after 8 p.m. when two men attacked her from behind and pinned her to the ground, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Based on their actions and comments, the woman told deputies that she thought they were trying to rape her.

The woman said she fought back, kicking and screaming, according to the news release. Five people in the parking lot came to her aid and the suspects fled on foot, according to her account.

One suspect was described as a white male, unknown age, about 6-feet-3-inches tall, 220 pounds with black or dark brown hair. He was reportedly wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with white cords coming from the hood and blue jeans. He was also described as having a full beard.

The second suspect was described as a white male, unknown age, about 6 feet tall and possibly 200 pounds. He had light brown hair, no facial hair and a thin face. He was said to be wearing a black sweatshirt with blue jeans.

Currently the suspects are unknown. Sheriff’s deputies would like to talk to people who came to the woman’s aid and any other witnesses. They can call the sheriff’s office at (208) 446-1300.

Police say driver took car onto railroad track

A 24-year-old man suspected of drunken driving escaped serious injury early Friday after his car was struck by a train near downtown, Spokane police said.

Police say Ruben Flores drove westbound on a railroad track until his car got stuck. It was struck by a train near Sprague Way and Erie Street just before 3 a.m., police said in a news release. He and his passenger escaped the car before the crash and fled on foot. Flores broke his ankle when he jumped off a 7-foot embankment near Sprague Avenue and Division Street, police said.

Flores, was arrested on a charge of drunken driving and taken to a local hospital for treatment of his injury, according to the news release.

Seattle zoo reports African elephant dies

SEATTLE – Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo says its only African elephant has unexpectedly died.

Watoto, a 45-year-old African elephant which had been at the zoo since 1971, was euthanized Friday morning. Zoo officials said keepers arrived in the morning to find the elephant lying down and unable to get up, but emergency care didn’t help.

African elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild.

Woodland Park Zoo chief operations officer Bruce Bohmke said in a news release it’s a difficult time for the zoo, and that Watoto lived a long and healthful life at the zoo.

The zoo plans a necropsy and says it will release results in the next few weeks.

Watoto was born in Kenya between 1969 and 1970 and joined the zoo as an orphan.