In brief: Two die in one-car crash near Steptoe

Two people died early Wednesday in a one-car wreck near Steptoe, Washington.

Whitman County sheriff’s deputies responded about 2 a.m. to the crash off Hume Road, about 8 miles north of Colfax and 2 miles outside of Steptoe.

The Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as Jonathan Thomas Scholz, 37, of Steptoe, and Kimberly Ann Blowers, 32, of Tampa, Florida.

A Sheriff’s Office news release said the car, “believed to be a late model Mercedes sedan,” was found “fully engulfed and embedded into a tree about 50 feet north of the roadway.”

A preliminary assessment suggests the car was speeding, the release said.

Chad Sokol

Motor home blaze kills toddler in Idaho

A 2-year-old girl died in a fire that consumed a motor home Tuesday night in Oldtown, Idaho.

Genevieve Winn was alone inside the camper when the fire ripped through it about 8 p.m. The incident took place at 4038 Hoo Doo Loop.

Bonner County Undersheriff David Hale said several adults were at or near the camper and were unharmed. He said criminal charges may be filed if investigators determine one of the adults is at fault for Winn’s death.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but preliminary information suggests it may have started with electrical wiring, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The fire destroyed the motor home but did not spread. Detectives and coroner’s office officials were at the scene through the night and into the morning.

Chad Sokol

Gleason Act heads to president’s desk

The bill named for Spokane native and Washington State University athlete Steve Gleason, allowing for Medicare coverage of communication software, is headed to President Barack Obama’s desk.

The Steve Gleason Act had been championed by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, who said rules blocking access to eye-tracking software for patients with neurodegenerative disorders were “bureaucratic nonsense,” on a visit to Spokane to discuss the bill with health care professionals in March.

The House agreed to the bill by voice vote Wednesday afternoon after a similar bill cleared the U.S. Senate in April.

Gleason attended Gonzaga Preparatory School and WSU. He played for the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints before retiring in 2008 and announcing his diagnosis for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2011.

Kip Hill