Fatal collision remains under review

SANDPOINT — Drugs, alcohol and reckless driving have been ruled out of a deadly collision between a pedestrian and pickup truck driver, according to Idaho State Police.

Trooper Kevin Bennett said the investigation and crash reconstruction report are done and being reviewed at ISP Headquarters in Meridian, which is standard practice in fatal traffic collisions.

Following the review, the materials will be forwarded to the Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office and a decision will be made whether or not to pursue charges against the motorist, Mark Harley McElroy.

Anthony James Joerger was struck by McElroy’s Ford F-250 pickup as he walked across Fifth Avenue in the Cedar Street crosswalk on Nov. 19. Joerger, 46, of Sandpoint, was fatally injured in the 5 p.m. crash and later died at Bonner General Hospital.

Joerger happened to be a member of the city’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to the City Council on infrastructure improvements.

McElroy, a 49-year-old from Athol, has cooperated fully with the investigation, Bennett said.

McElroy, state police said, was westbound on Cedar and stopped at Fifth. Joerger was on the southwest corner of the intersection. McElroy proceeded to turn south onto Fifth, but failed to see Joerger in the crosswalk and struck him.

Bennett said Joerger had the right of way when he was in the crosswalk. With intoxicants and reckless driving out of the picture, Bennett said it’s highly unlikely McElroy could be charged with vehicular manslaughter at the felony level.

But it’s still unclear what, if anything, McElroy will ultimately be charged with or cited for.

“There’s just a lot of factors on both sides,” Bennett said.

Several overhead lights at the intersection were not working properly in the post-sunset collision. The timing of the pedestrian and traffic signals has also been drawn into question in the aftermath of the crash.

Along with being one of busiest of the city’s seven signalized intersections, Fifth and Cedar is also a mosaic of city and state jurisdictions. The city is responsible for overhead illumination and crosswalk striping, while the Idaho Transportation Department sets the cycles for the traffic signals and paints lane markings for vehicle traffic.

Both jurisdictions are currently working together to improve safety for pedestrians.

The city’s Public Works Committee has developed a list of potential pedestrian improvements such as countdown signals, in-street signage and lighting, and pedestrian refuges. City and ITD officials have also met to discuss ways of improving pedestrian safety at intersections throughout the city.

“The agreement is, ‘Let’s work together and do something.’ But no decisions have been made as what those things will be,” said Barbara Babic, ITD’s District 1 spokeswoman.