In brief: Police seek help in identifying injured pedestrian

An unidentified man in his late teens or early 20s was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries Sunday morning after a car hit him south of Spokane.

The pedestrian was struck just before 1:30 a.m. on South Regal Street near 61st Avenue, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said.

Investigators were not able to identify the man, who was unconscious and not carrying identification, the Sheriff’s Office said.

He is white and between 5-foot-10 and 6 feet tall with brown, collar-length hair and no obvious tattoos. He was wearing a tie-dye shirt, blue shorts, and red-white-and-blue socks with marijuana leaf prints on them.

The driver of the vehicle was contacted at the scene, and the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information on the incident or who can help identify the injured man is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233 and reference No. 110913.

Victims ID’d in crash near Pullman

A three-vehicle crash near Pullman claimed the life of a Colfax woman over the weekend.

Dina Williamson, 28, was killed Saturday night on U.S. Highway 195, the Washington State Patrol said.

She was driving north in a 2003 Ford Focus that crossed the centerline about 8:45 p.m. and struck an oncoming 2003 Chevrolet Suburban, investigators said.

The other driver, Lana Fonnesbeck, 45, of Lewiston, was injured and taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. Two of her passengers, Logan Fonnesbeck, 14, and Kali Fonnesbeck, 13, were treated at Pullman Memorial Hospital.

A 2003 International van driven by a 17-year-old male and containing seven teenage passengers, all from Colfax, struck the Suburban. None of them was injured.

The WSP said drugs and alcohol were not involved. The investigation continues.

The crash, about 4 miles northwest of Pullman, closed the highway between Pullman and Colfax until early Sunday morning.

Injured man found lying near tracks

A man with a serious leg injury was found Sunday morning lying on BNSF Railway right-of-way near the intersection of Pines Road and Trent Avenue in Spokane Valley.

Investigators were trying to determine if a train had struck the man, who was taken to a local hospital. His name was not released.

Schuller wins MacDowell Medal

Gunther Schuller, the award-winning composer and conductor, has won the prestigious Edward MacDowell Medal for lifetime achievement.

The MacDowell Colony, the artist residency program that sponsors the medal, praised Schuller for his “laser-sharp ears” and “sensitive, fertile, creative mind.” Schuller will receive his medal Aug. 9 on the MacDowell grounds in Peterborough, New Hampshire, the colony announced Sunday.

The 89-year-old Schuller has a long history of jazz and classical recordings and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for his composition “Of Reminiscences and Reflections.” He has also won two Grammys, for notes to his album “Footlifters” and for best chamber music as conductor of the New England Conservatory Ragtime Ensemble on “Joplin: The Red Back Book.”

Schuller was the Northwest Bach Festival’s artistic director for 20 years before stepping down in 2013.

Previous recipients of the MacDowell Medal include Robert Frost, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.

Laser mapping finds abandoned mines

STAYTON, Ore. – A project to determine the locations of abandoned mines in the Willamette National Forest could help firefighters and others avoid injuries.

The Statesman Journal reported in a story Saturday that the four-year project initiated by the U.S. Forest Service found 226 features of abandoned mines in the North Santiam Mining District. Those features include mine entrances, exploration pits and waste rock areas.

The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries used an airborne laser to scan the Earth’s surface in a technology known as LIDAR. Combining the results with other information created a three-dimensional map that workers used to go into the field to pinpoint abandoned mining areas.

“LIDAR aids in the inventory and closure of abandoned mine features with the aim to protect public safety,” said Ruth Seegar, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman. “LIDAR is an effective tool in advance of a ground survey because it increases the efficiency and labor of a time-consuming abandoned mine survey.”

Mining in the area dates back to 1860, although records indicate the area never produced much.