Two injured in separate accidents
SANDPOINT — A woman had to be rescued after her pickup truck rolled 400 feet down a hillside near Clark Fork and a man was arrested on suspicion of aggravated drunken driving after crashing an all-terrain vehicle in Laclede on Friday.
Idaho State Police said U.S. Forest Service officers were on patrol in the 6000 block of Johnson Creek Road when they noticed tire tracks leaving the roadway and debris. They got out of their vehicle to investigate and heard Sandra L. Thompson screaming.
Clark Fork Fire personnel were summoned and rescued Thompson, state police said. The crash was reported shortly after 9 p.m., according to Bonner Dispatch records.
Thompson, a 50-year-old from Post Falls, told officers she believed the crash occurred at about 6:30 p.m. She said she was headed west on the forest road when she swerved to avoid an animal and plunged down the hillside.
Thompson was taken to Bonner General Hospital and transferred to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Wash. Thompson was admitted to the intensive care unit and was in serious but stable condition, a nursing supervisor said on Saturday.
It was unclear if Thompson was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, ISP said. The truck she was driving was too badly damaged to discern a make or model and authorities said recovering the pickup would be an extensive effort.
About an hour after that crash, a man from St. Louis was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after crashing a Polaris utility terrain vehicle in Laclede and injuring a passenger.
State police said Alexander R. Bieg, 23, was spinning circles on a gravel roadway when he rolled the UTV onto the passenger side.
Passenger Callan E. Walla, a 22-year-old woman also from St. Louis, was injured and taken to Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene. She was treated and released, a nursing supervisor said on Saturday.
State police said it was unknown if either occupant was wearing a helmet when the UTV, also known as a utility task vehicle or side-by-side, overturned.
The crash happened shortly before 10 p.m. near the junction of Laclede Ferry Road and River Run Drive.