In brief: Coeur d’Alene man dies in three-vehicle Hayden crash

A Coeur d’Alene man was killed Sunday afternoon when his car was hit by a driver who ran a red light on U.S. Highway 95.

Jeffrey P. Kirk, 37, died at Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene following the crash at Honeysuckle Avenue in Hayden, the Idaho State Police said.

Kirk’s Honda Accord was struck by a Chevy Suburban driven by Gary E. Dixon, 42, of Post Falls. Dixon was not injured.

Investigators said Dixon was northbound on the highway when he ran the red light and broadsided the driver’s side door of Kirk’s car, which was westbound on Honeysuckle. Dixon then spun out and struck a third vehicle driven by Susan N. Pattee, 41, of Hayden. Pattee and a passenger were uninjured.

The crash, reported at 4:18 p.m., blocked northbound and southbound lanes of the highway. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and Idaho Transportation Department assisted.

The investigation continues.

Patricide suspect to appear in court

PULLMAN – A 24-year-old man accused of killing his father Saturday evening in a Pullman apartment is expected to appear in court today.

Erik C. Luden is in the Whitman County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Virgil C. Luden, 58, of Sammamish, Washington.

Police were called to the apartment shortly before 5 p.m. on a report of a domestic dispute and found the elder Luden unresponsive on the floor. Paramedics attempted to revive him but eventually pronounced him dead at the scene.

The apartment is at 960 NE C St. in the middle of the College Hill neighborhood beside Washington State University. Erik Luden, who lived at the apartment, is not listed as a student or employee in the university’s online directory.

Officers at the crime scene early Sunday declined to give additional information about the investigation. Attempts to contact neighbors were unsuccessful. A property manager said “very few” people are living in the apartment complex as many students have left town for the summer.

Erik Luden was taken to jail after being treated for minor injuries at Pullman Regional Hospital. His father apparently suffered head wounds, police said in a news release. An autopsy to determine the cause of death is pending.

Colville man hurt on motorcycle

A Colville man was injured Sunday when his motorcycle collided with a car on state Highway 20 in Stevens County.

Mitchell F. Miller, 50, was taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. He was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision, the Washington State Patrol said.

Miller was eastbound on the highway 19 miles east of Colville when he crossed the center line and struck a car driven by Sean C. Huntsman, 43, of Metaline Falls, Washington. Miller lost control of the motorcycle, struck a guardrail and was ejected, police said.

Injured bear cub will return to wild

BOISE – The black bear cub injured in a Washington wildfire last year is finally going home.

The Idaho Statesman reported that the 2-year-old female black bear named Cinder will be released into the wild this week.

She was found under a horse trailer in Methow Valley following the Carlton Complex fires in summer 2014. Cinder’s paws were so severely burned that she wasn’t even walking on them. Instead, she was pulling herself along by her elbows.

The bear was initially sent to Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care in California before continuing her recovery at Idaho Black Bear Rehab in Garden City.

She’s heading back to Washington on Wednesday with another bear, Kaulana, who was also injured by wildfires.

Drone removed from power lines

SEATTLE – Workers have removed a remote-controlled aircraft that was stuck in power lines in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood for a week.

KING-TV reported that Seattle City Light crews removed the drone on Saturday.

Workers had been planning how to get it down since residents reported hearing a strange sputtering, buzzing noise overhead last weekend.

Seattle City Light representative Scott Thomsen called the region the Interstate 5 of the power industry and told people to consider it a no-fly zone.

Workers removed the drone by de-energizing the line, attaching a carriage and using it to travel out on the wire.

Thomsen says the removal cost between $30,000 and $35,000.

The Seattle Police Department now has the drone and is investigating the incident.