Cluster of crashes injures seven
SANDPOINT - Seven people were injured in three separate crashes that kept authorities scrambling and snarled traffic on Wednesday.
The crashes, two of which occurred on U.S. Highway 95, happened between 6:45 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Two of the crashes were alcohol-related rollovers, one of which ended up with a vehicle in Lake Pend Oreille, according to Idaho State Police.
The first crash happened on U.S. 95 near Naples, when Christopher J. Bustillos attempted to overtake a northbound tractor-trailer without sufficient clearance. Bustillos' maneuver forced north and southbound traffic off the highway, state police said.
Bustillos, a 19-year-old from Bonners Ferry, cut in front of the semi, but his Toyota 4-Runner hit the front of the Peterbilt truck, ISP said. Bustillos lost control of his sport utility vehicle, which went off the east side of the highway and overturned.
Bustillos and passenger James G. Bennett, 21, of Moyie Springs, were injured. Bustillos was taken to Boundary Community Hospital and Bennett was transported to Kootenai Medical Center. Seat belts were being worn in the SUV.
The driver the semi, Rodney P. Loewen, 45, of Lister, British Columbia, Canada, was not injured, state police said in a news release. He, too, was wearing a seat belt.
The second wreck took place at 8:12 p.m. on River Road, also known as Old River Road, about 5 miles southeast of Clark Fork.
State police said Kara J. Printz was northbound when she failed to negotiate a curve and careened off the west side of the road in her Subaru Impreza. The compact import struck an embankment, overturned twice and came to rest on its wheels.
Printz, 26, of Noxon, Mont., was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle. Her passenger, 35-year-old fellow Noxon resident Tyson Pieper, was belted in and had to be extricated, according to ISP.
Printz was flown by MedStar Northwest to Sacred Heart Medical Center with critical injuries. She remained in critical condition on Thursday, a nursing supervisor said.
Clark Fork Valley Ambulance took Pieper to Bonner General Hospital. He was listed in stable condition on Thursday, a hospital official said.
Alcohol was involved in the crash, state police said.
Troopers contend alcohol was also involved in the third crash, which occurred on the north end of the Long Bridge 21 minutes after the rollover in Clark Fork.
State police said Christina C. Cady was northbound on the bridge when she drifted into the southbound lane and sideswiped a southbound Toyota RAV4 with her Ford Explorer. Cady narrowly missed a tractor-trailer, overcorrected twice and jumped a guardrail on the west side of the bridge.
Cady's full-size SUV rolled down an embankment and into the lake, where it ended up on its side in about 3 feet of water. She exited the vehicle and made her way to land, where she was assisted by bystanders, said ISP.
Cady, a 43-year-old from Sandpoint, received non-life-threatening injuries. It was unknown if she was wearing a seat belt when the crash happened, state police said.
The occupants of the compact SUV that was sideswiped - driver Robert L. Shupe, 69, of Sagle, and passenger Barbara Shupe, no age listed - suffered minor injuries, state police said. The two were wearing seat belts.
Cady and the Shupes were taken to Bonner General, where they were treated and released, a hospital official said on Thursday.