Hearing postponed in cyclist fatality

SANDPOINT — A hearing to determine whether a Washington state woman should be made to stand trial for felony vehicular manslaughter is set for Sept. 15.

Bowdeen Sui-lan Kahuhu’s preliminary hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, although it was pushed back because of her defense counsel, Chief Deputy Public Defender Janet Whitney, has not received any discovery materials in the case and expects the hearing to last as many four hours.

Kahuhu waived her right to speedy preliminary hearing and Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Roger Hanlon did not object to the continuance, court records indicate.

Kahuhu, a 31-year-old from Newport, was arrested after hitting a Spokane-to-Sandpoint relay contestant and her chaperone on Highway 41 on Aug. 14. The relay runner, a 17-year-old from Liberty Lake, Wash., survived the collision. The chaperone, Patricia Ann Lambie, was killed.

Lambie, 46, of Greenacres, Wash., was cycling as she escorted the runner.

Both the teen and Lambie were wearing reflective gear when they were struck in the early-morning collision, Idaho State Police said. The crash happened near Roberts Lane, north of Blanchard.

Kahuhu told an ISP trooper that she fell asleep at the wheel as she drove north on the highway. She exhibited signs of alcohol use, although her breath alcohol content was found to be below the legal limit of 0.08, court documents said.

Samples of Kahuhu’s blood and urine were collected as evidence, although the results have not been divulged yet.

State police said Kahuhu’s Plymouth Voyager minivan crossed into the southbound lane and then the shoulder, where she ran into the relay participants.