Woman jailed following crash

SANDPOINT — A Ponderay woman was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving following a rollover crash which severely injured a passenger in her vehicle on Wednesday night.

Judge Debra Heise set Heather Leigh Carper’s bail at $25,000 on Thursday and appointed a public defender to represent her. Carper is charged with aggravated drunken driving, a felony, and possession of an open container of alcohol.

The crash happened on East Spring Creek Road near Clark Fork shortly before 8 p.m. A 29-year-old female passenger in Carper’s vehicle sustained a broken back in the rollover crash, an Idaho State Police report said.

Carper, 23, was combative following the crash and had to be restrained so emergency workers could pull the passenger from the overturned vehicle, the report said. A blood draw was taken at Bonner General Hospital.

The results from the blood alcohol test were pending. Trooper Kevin Bennett noted in his report that Carper showed outward signs of alcohol consumption, including slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and the odor of intoxicants.

Carper was charged with felony drunken driving because the crash resulted in great bodily harm to the passenger, according to the criminal complaint. A preliminary hearing on the charge is pending.