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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Teens involved in car crash with train on Rathdrum Prairie

From staff reports

Two teens were injured Thursday afternoon when their car was struck by a train on the Rathdrum Prairie.

The driver was 18-year-old Austin C. Wiseman of Hayden, Idaho, and his passenger was a 15-year-old girl from Coeur d’Alene. Wiseman was in critical condition at the scene and his passenger was in serious condition, said Kootenai County Sheriff’s Det. Dennis Stinebaugh.

The crash happened at 3:10 p.m. at a railroad crossing on North Huetter Road near Lancaster Avenue. The crossing has stop signs but no railroad crossing arms.

Stinebaugth said while he and other investigators were still on the scene, he watched a car go through the crossing arms on Lancaster Avenue near the intersection as a train was coming. The car made it safely through, he said.

“It’s just such a prevalent thing,” he said.

The crash was the second in two months where teenagers were involved in car versus train collisions in the area.

A 15-year-old girl died in mid-February at a Post Falls crossing when a train struck the car she was riding in at an uncontrolled crossing.

The driver, a 17-year-old boy, was injured. The two were en route to a school event.

According to an Idaho State Patrol news release, the car first stopped at a stop sign and then attempted to cross the tracks when the train struck it.