Trial pending in pedestrian collision

SANDPOINT — A jury trial is pending for a Bonner County man accused of accidentally hitting a pedestrian with his pickup truck earlier this year.

Craig Matthew Lewis is charged with inattentive or careless driving in connection with the Feb. 2 collision in the 700 block of Selle Road. He pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor offense.

Idaho State Police said Mark Bouse, 16, was walking eastbound on Selle when he was struck by a GMC Canyon driven by Lewis, who was also headed eastbound.

Witness accounts of the 3:40 p.m. collision contrast.

One witness, who was driving westbound on Selle, placed Bouse in the center of the eastbound lane of travel when he was struck.

“(The witness) said it appeared the Lewis vehicle did not slow down or hit the brakes prior to hitting Bouse,” Trooper Leslie Lehman said in her report.

Two other witnesses, meanwhile, independently said they were driving eastbound on Selle when they encountered Bouse walking down the center line of the roadway, forcing them to slow considerably in order to avoid hitting him, the report said.

Lewis, 67, told the trooper he did not even see Bouse until after the collision occurred, according to court documents.

Bouse was airlifted to Providence Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital in Spokane, but survived the collision.

The crash occurred on a straight, level section of dry roadway amid overcast weather conditions, the crash report said.

Bonner County Magistrate Court Judge Debra Heise declined to find probable cause for the charge in March due to Bouse’s apparent presence somewhere in the middle of Selle Road. However, Lehman later testified during June 17 hearing that Bouse was in the roadway because the road was hemmed in by snow berms, which made it difficult for Bouse to walk beside the road, court documents indicate.

Lewis is free on his own recognizance while the case is pending. A pretrial conference is set for today.