2 kids die in vehicle accident

Two young Fairfield, Wash., children were killed Saturday afternoon in Bonner County, Idaho, when a vehicle driven by their mother went off the road and turned upside down in a creek about a mile and a half from Clark Fork, according to the Idaho State Police.

Bethany S. Ashmoore, 28, was treated at Bonner County General Hospital and released, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Her children, a 2-year-old boy and an 8-month-old boy, were pronounced dead at the hospital, according to an ISP report.

Both had been in child restraints when the 1998 Subaru Legacy that Ashmoore was driving south on Spring Creek Road failed to negotiate a corner, the report said.

The vehicle went off the left side of the road, slid down a small embankment and overturned in Spring Creek.

The passenger compartment of the vehicle was submerged in 3 to 4 feet of water, the report said.

An ISP dispatcher contacted Sunday could not say whether the children died of injuries or drowned as a result of the accident.

Clark Fork resident Cliff Coleman said he arrived at the scene shortly after the mother and her children were taken away. He saw the Subaru upside down in the creek and two child’s car seats sitting on the road.

“Nobody knew who it was or who she was up here seeing,” Coleman said.

“We’ve lived up here 27 years and this is the worst thing that has ever happened.”