Briefly

Man hurt when boat plows into marina

Squaw Bay, Idaho

A man was injured Monday when a powerboat he was driving struck a dock at the Panhandle Yacht Club, went airborne over a sailboat and landed partially atop another dock, witnesses and the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department said.

The boat operator, and lone occupant, was identified as Larry M. Petillo. Petillo, complaining of a possible back injury, was placed on a back-board and transported by a Kootenai County Fire and Rescue boat to Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene.

The accident happened at 3:30 p.m. Monday, sheriff’s officials said. The powerboat appeared suddenly, coming out of the lake and headed straight for the private, sail-only marina, harbormaster Neil Stephens said.

“We don’t know where he came from. He was coming under full power,” Stephens said.

Stephens and others at the yacht club watched in horror as the powerboat struck an outlying dock and launched airborne over a sailboat, snapping a mast along the way. The boat then ripped across the yacht club’s swimming area at an estimated 20 mph, Stephens said.

“We are so lucky” the swim area was empty, he said. “Last weekend we probably had 40 kids out there.”

The boat came to rest partly atop a second dock and was shoved back into the water by Stephens and others who rushed to the aid of the boater, who was semiconscious.

“We didn’t know if he had a stroke or a seizure or what,” Stephens said.

There are no public services at the Panhandle Yacht Club, which offers private slips for sailboats, Stephens said.

Deputies looking for gas thieves

Gas thieves have stolen hundreds of gallons of fuel since June from Spokane-area gas stations by interfering with gas pump electronic control systems, the Spokane Police Department reported.

The thieves have stolen up to 600 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel at least 10 times, usually in the early hours of weekday mornings.

In at least one incident, the two thieves pumped the gas into tanks in the back of a four-wheel-drive Ford F-250 pickup from the mid-1970s, the department reported. The truck was mostly white, but the passenger door and half the hood was painted red. It had clearance lights on the cab, but only one was lit. It also had white, steel-spoke wheels.

The investigation of the thefts is being led by the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

A.J. Singh, who supervises one of the gas stations that was targeted, said the thieves have stolen hundreds of dollars of fuel from the business during three incidents.

“When somebody steals gas, it’s a big loss,” Singh said. “(Gas thefts) can cause businesses to go broke.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

Newman Lake fire ruled accidental

A fire that destroyed a mobile home last week near Newman Lake has been ruled accidental, the Spokane Valley Fire Department reported.

Firefighters fought the blaze at 24705 E. Trent on Thursday night. Residents of the home, Steve and Kim Hoff and their children, were at a neighbor’s mobile home when they noticed the fire.

Paul Chase, fire marshal of the Spokane Valley Fire Department, said little was salvageable from the home, and the family was not insured.

Chase said the fire started in the kitchen, but the exact cause cannot be determined.

Two children hurt in two-car collision

Athol, Idaho

Two children were flown by medical helicopter to Spokane hospitals Monday afternoon when a two-car collision here left six injured, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department said.

According to preliminary information released by sheriff’s officials, the accident at East War Eagle Road and Caribou Drive, a couple of miles south of Athol, was reported at 2:20 p.m. Monday. Deputies and emergency workers reported finding two vehicles involved in a collision – a 1993 Toyota van that had overturned and a 1999 Isuzu Trooper.

Six people were injured, including a 5-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl who were flown to Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane in serious condition. Three of the remaining four people with injuries were treated and released from Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene, the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

The six injured people were not wearing seatbelts, sheriff’s officials said after preliminary investigation. Names of the drivers and injured people were not available Tuesday.

Seattle climber dies in Grand Teton park

Grand Teton National Park, Wyo. An experienced Seattle climber died on Grand Teton National Park’s 11,618-foot Disappointment Peak when his rappel anchor failed and he fell 50 feet, officials said Tuesday.

Frank Olding, 40, died Monday of traumatic injuries, the National Park Service said.

Olding was part of a three-person climbing party that began an ascent of the peak’s East Ridge early Monday morning, park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said.

After reaching the top of the fourth pitch, Olding apparently decided to abandon going farther, because he felt the next section was beyond the skill levels of his partners — Adam Heiner, 29, and Eric Newman, 30, also of Seattle. As Olding began to rappel back down the fourth pitch, his anchor failed and he fell, Skaggs said.

Heiner was able to reach Olding, then rappelled alone farther down the mountain until he found a hiker with a cell phone and called for help at about 3 p.m., Skaggs said.

Newman remained stranded at the original anchor site because Heiner needed all their climbing gear to get back down quickly.

A helicopter flew to the scene at 4 p.m. Monday. Olding had died by the time rangers reached him.