ISP probing deadly crash

SANDPOINT — Idaho State Police is continuing its investigation into a chain-reaction collision on U.S. Highway 95 that killed one man and injured two others on Saturday morning

“It’s going to be one of those long-haul cases,” state police Cpl. Allen Ashby said on Monday.

Zachary Henager remained in critical condition at Kootenai Medical Center on Monday, Ashby said. Richard Walston’s condition improved from critical to serious. Walston is being treated at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

State police indicated Henager was from Texas, although court records in Bonner County suggest he resides here.

The crash happened at about 8:40 a.m. at Cocolalla Creek. The highway was blocked for more than 10 hours as emergency workers evacuated the injured and cleared the roadway.

State police said Henager, a 23-year-old from Sandpoint, was headed south in a Mazda coupe when he lost control, crossed the center line and collided head-on with tractor-trailer driven by Walston, 58, of Colville, Wash.

Walston lost control of the Mack semi, which was pulling an empty flatbed trailer, and crossed into southbound traffic and crashed head-on into a another tractor-trailer driven by James Mady of Creswell, Ore., according to ISP.

Mady’s semi overturned and broke apart. The soft-sided flatbed trailer, which was filled with peat moss, blocked the highway, while the tractor skidded off into the southbound ditch.

Brian M. Fendos, who was southbound in a tractor-trailer, was trailing Henager and swerved to avoid the coupe, but ended up colliding with a northbound semi driven by Pavlo P. Shevchuk, 21, of Manitoba, Canada.

Mady was killed in the collision. Fendos, a 39-year-old from Bonners Ferry, was not injured in the collision, according to ISP. Shevchuk also escaped injury.

All of the motorists were wearing seat belts, state police said.

No citations were issued after the crash, although Ashby said there is the potential for criminal charges. He declined to elaborate on what those charges might be or who could be subject to them.

“At this point, it’s too early to say,” Ashby said.

Although rates of travel are still being determined, Ashby said excessive speed — whether in relation to the posted limit or road conditions — could prove to be a factor.

Ashby said intoxication is not suspected in any of the collisions, although toxicology results are still pending. State police may also download information from vehicles’ event data recorders and computer modules.

It could take a month or two for the primary and crash reconstruction reports to be forwarded to the Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office for a determination on whether charges will be pursued.

Mady is the first motorist to be killed in a crash on a state highway in Bonner County in 2012. Five people were killed on state routes in the county in 2011.

Ashby said Saturday’s crash is regarded as one of the worst in recent memory.

“All of the officers on scene remarked that this was one of the most horrific crashes they’ve ever been involved in,” he said.