Crash closes Long Bridge

SANDPOINT — As many as three people were injured after an apparent head-on collision on the U.S. Highway 95 Long Bridge on Thursday.

The crash, which happened shortly after 5:30 p.m., brought rush hour traffic on the bridge to a standstill for up to an hour and a half. Northbound traffic didn't start moving until about two hours after the collision, witnesses said.

The collision happened on the north end of the bridge near Dog Beach.

Witnesses said a southbound Geo Metro drifted across the center line and collided either head-on or nearly head-on with a northbound Dodge pickup truck. Rob Yeador of Sagle happened to be crossing the bridge and helped the driver out of the overturned pickup. The driver was trapped in the cab, but not pinned, he said.

"He was conscious and wanting to get out badly. He was starting to panic," Yeador said.

The male occupant of the Geo hatchback reportedly fled the scene after the crash, witnesses said. The male had an active arrest warrant and later turned up at a hospital and indicated he wanted to turn himself in, Bonner County dispatchers told law officers on Thursday night.

The female occupant was apparently injured in her leg or hip. Witness accounts conflicted as to which person was driving the Geo.

Names of the people involved in the crash could not be verified and their conditions were not immediately available. Idaho State Police troopers were investigating the smashup.

Names of those involved could not be confirmed through ISP dispatch and a press release was still pending at the time of The Daily Bee's temporary early 8:30 p.m. deadline.