U.S. 2 crash injures pair

OLDTOWN — Two Washington state men were injured after careening across five lanes of U.S. Highway 2 and crashing directly into a Jersey barrier at the LeClerc Creek Road intersection late Tuesday morning.

Idaho State Police said James S. Deerwester was southbound on the Bonner County road when he failed to halt at a posted stop sign at the highway intersection. Deerwester’s 1995 Toyota pickup truck, state police said, went across all four lanes of the highway and center turn lane and collided with the concrete traffic barrier, causing the truck to overturn and come to rest on its side at the foot of an embankment.

Deerwester, a 34-year-old from Newport, and passenger Robert R. Lange, a 58-year-old from Seattle, had to be extricated from the vehicle, according to ISP. Deerwester was taken by ground ambulance, while Lange was taken by air ambulance to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

Neither of the truck’s occupants were wearing seat belts at the time of the 11:20 a.m. incident, said ISP, which is still investigating the crash.