Hearing is set in crash case
SANDPOINT — A preliminary hearing is set for a Laclede man accused of causing a high-speed collision on U.S. Highway 2 that injured five people.
John Douglas Kuhn is charged with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence because two of the passengers suffered great bodily harm in the June 22 crash. A preliminary hearing on the felony charges is scheduled for July 13.
Idaho State Police said Kuhn was driving eastbound when he crashed his 2013 Honda Accord into the back of a Chevrolet Express van on the western outskirts of Priest River. A Bonner County Sheriff’s deputy happened to be conducting radar patrol and clocked Kuhn’s mid-size vehicle at 96 mph in a 55 mph zone seconds before the collision, an ISP probable cause affidavit states.
The collision knocked the full-size van off the south side of the highway, where it struck an embankment several times, overturned and came to rest on its wheels, according to the affidavit. All five passengers were taken to local hospitals for treatment.
One of the passengers, Kiersten Sprick, a 21-year-old from Sammamish, Wash., suffered a cervical vertebrae fracture, a pinched brain artery, fractured sternum, four fused vertebrae and a possible facial fracture, court records indicate. An underage passenger suffered a broken thumb, a criminal complaint alleges.
The charges rose to the felony level because the crash caused great bodily injury.
A third passenger, Caitlin J. Pankratz, 18, of Bothell, Wash., was ejected from the van, although her injuries were not specified in court documents.
Kuhn, 65, was also injured in the collision and taken to Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene for treatment. He was arrested upon his release from the hospital on June 25.
Immediately after the crash, Kuhn admitted consuming alcohol earlier in the day and crashing into the van, the affidavit said. Blood was drawn from Kuhn after the collision, although his alcohol concentration is not listed in court documents yet.
Kuhn was originally held at the Bonner County Jail in lieu of $40,000, although that sum was reduced upon a motion by his court-appointed public defender, court records show. The defense argued that Kuhn had no hope of posting such a high bail because he is disabled and unemployed. Moreover, Kuhn has family in the area who can assure his appearance at future court hearings, the defense argued.
Kuhn’s bail was reduced to $10,000, which he posted. Conditions of Kuhn’s pretrial release include prohibitions against consuming alcohol or driving a vehicle. He is also required to submit to ethyl glucuronide testing twice a week to monitor compliance with the alcohol prohibition. The tests, also known as EtG tests, detect metabolites produced by the consumption of alcohol.