Trial set in fatal car crash case

SANDPOINT — No pretrial resolution has been reached in a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter case pending against a Post Falls man.

Alexander Craig Hjelt’s two-day jury trial in Bonner County Magistrate Court is set to start on June 30. Pretrial negotiations have already put off the trial once, although no resolution was announced during a pretrial conference on Friday, court records show.

Hjelt, 31, is charged at the misdemeanor level in connection with a crash on U.S. Highway 95 which accidentally killed Kathleen L. Ginter on June 2, 2015.

Idaho State Police said Hjelt was northbound when he failed to notice in time that traffic ahead of him had stopped. The Chevrolet Silverado Hjelt was driving collided into the rear of a Ginter’s Saturn sedan, which sent it into the southbound lane of travel and into the path of an oncoming vehicle.

Ginter, 60, was fatally injured in the collision. None of the other motorists involved were seriously injured, according to a police report.

Hjelt told a trooper he was listening to music and taking in the scenery along the highway when he realized too late that traffic ahead of him had stopped so another motorist could turn onto West Elmira Road.

Hjlet said he took evasive action to try and avoid the collision, but was unable to.

A criminal complaint in the case states that Hjelt was driving in an careless and imprudent manner, in addition to traveling above the 60 mph speed limit. The complaint further alleges that Hjelt that rate of travel was imprudent or unreasonable given highway conditions.

Hjelt pleaded not guilty to the charge and is free on his own recognizance while the case is pending, court records show.