Man and son arrested in road rage assault

A father and son were arrested in North Spokane Friday for punching a woman and threatening her with a baseball bat, apparently due to road rage.

Rodney K. Bambino, 42, and his 19-year-old son, Anthony G. Bambino, allegedly followed a woman in their truck until she pulled over in a parking lot near North Market Street and East Fairview Avenue, Spokane police Cpl. Jon Strickland said.

Witnesses said the elder Bambino hit the 45-year-old woman through the rolled-down window on the driver’s side, then pulled her out of the car and continued hitting her. “For some reason they took offense at her driving,” Strickland said.

When the men backed off to their vehicle, the woman reportedly approached them armed with a box cutter. She said she wanted to get the license plate number, Strickland said. The father told his son to “get the bat” and then chased the woman with a bat until police arrived.

The woman was transported to a hospital with a contusion on her head, as well as bruising on her face and shoulders, and other scrapes. Strickland said this type of assault is uncommon, but five to 10 calls come in each day about road rage-related incidents in Spokane.

If you are being threatened on the road, he said, keep driving and call 911.

Staff reports

Northport, Wash.

Liquid nitrogen-filled truck rolls, leaks

A truck carrying liquid nitrogen rolled over early Friday three miles south of Northport, near the Canadian border. Liquid nitrogen leaked onto state Route 25, which was closed until just before 1 p.m., according to the Washington State Patrol. Tow trucks failed to turn the semi upright, and a crane called to remove the vehicle was still on the scene Friday evening.

The driver was taken to Mt. Carmel Hospital in Colville with non-life-threatening injuries.

Lisa Waananen

Region

Border towns report record lows

It seemed ominously like winter near the Canadian border this week as two towns recored record low temperatures. In Washington, the temperature fell to 31 degrees in Boundary Dam overnight Wednesday, breaking the previous record of 34 degrees set in 1986, according to the National Weather Service. Porthill, Idaho, set a record low that same night at 27 degrees, 3 degrees colder than the previous record set in 1964. But the coldest was yet to come: Porthill broke the 1949 record of 27 degrees the following night with an overnight low of 23 degrees going into Friday.

Temperatures in Spokane have stayed above the average highs of 72 to 74 degrees this week. Warm weather will continue into next week, with Tuesday possibly reaching into the 90s, according to the National Weather Service. The record high in Spokane for that date is 93, set in 1938.

Lisa Waananen