Woman OK after SUV veers off steep embankment

A Spokane woman survived a tumble down a steep embankment Sunday night after the SUV she was driving veered off Fernan Lake Road in Kootenai County. Sheriff’s deputies and rescue workers were called around 10:20 p.m. to the area near the Fernan Saddle. Witnesses who called 911 reported hearing a loud crash and seeing the headlights from the car behind them disappear, the sheriff’s office said. It took more than four hours for searchers, using a helicopter equipped with a spotlight, to find the black Jeep Cherokee in thick brush about 250 feet down the embankment. Andrea M. Duncan, 37, was found laying in the back seat, conscious and alert and with minor cuts and bruises, the sheriff’s office said. She was the only occupant of the vehicle. Rescue workers pulled Duncan to the road using ropes. She was taken to Kootenai Health for an evaluation. The sheriff’s office said the incident is under investigation but alcohol appears to have been a factor.