DUI crash suspect pleads guilty
SANDPOINT — A Laclede man pleaded guilty Wednesday to crashing into a van full of people while under the influence of alcohol.
John Douglas Kuhn is scheduled to be sentenced on two counts of aggravated driving under the influence in 1st District Court on Nov. 21. Kuhn is free on $10,000 bail while his case is pending, court records show.
The felony charges stemmed from a June 22 collision on U.S. Highway 2 on the western outskirts of Priest River.
Idaho State Police said Kuhn was headed eastbound when crashed into the rear of Chevrolet Express which held five people.
The collision knocked the full-size van off the highway and into an embankment, causing it to overturn.
All five occupants were injured, according to state police. A Bonner County sheriff’s deputy who happened to witness the collision clocked Kuhn’s vehicle at 96 mph moments before impact, court documents indicate.
One passenger, Kiersten Sprick, a 21-year-old from Sammamish, Wash., suffered a cervical vertebrae fracture, a pinched brain artery, fractured sternum and other injuries. Another passenger was ejected from the vehicle, although her injuries were not disclosed in court documents.
Kuhn, 65, also was injured in the crash and taken to Kootenai Health for treatment. He admitted drinking alcohol prior to the crash, a trooper’s report said.
Blood was drawn from Kuhn, although the test results have not been disclosed in court documents.
Kuhn was initially order to submit ethyl glucuronide twice a week to monitor his compliance with a court order forbidding him from consuming alcohol. However, that requirement was later lifted because Kuhn was consistently passing the ETG tests, according to court records.
Kuhn’s defense counsel argued the ETG testing was also costly and onerous for Kuhn, who is also forbidden from getting behind the wheel as a condition of his pretrial release.
Kuhn faces up to 15 years in prison on each count, although Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Roger Hanlon advised the court he will recommend concurrent five-year terms, court documents state.