In brief: Charges are expected in crash near Reardan
The Washington State Patrol is expected to seek vehicular assault charges against a driver who lost control Saturday night north of Reardan in a crash that injured him and three others.
The crash occurred at 10:45 p.m. Saturday on State Route 231 about seven miles north of Reardan.
Teeadaun P. McCoy, 23, of Fruitland, was driving a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu when the car struck several trees. Also injured were Dale M. Park, 23, of Fruitland, and Joseph M. Curd, 41, and Arril R. Denison, 46, both of Davenport.
The State Patrol listed the cause of the crash as driving under the influence and indicated that troopers would seek vehicular assault charges against McCoy.
Fire damages house in northwest Spokane
Spokane firefighters responded at 9:49 a.m. Sunday to a report of a house fire in northwest Spokane that severely damaged a vacant home.
Crews arrived at 1927 W. Augusta Ave. to find heavy smoke and flames showing from the roof of the second floor of the home. The fire had spread throughout the second floor and attic.
A search of the home found it to be vacant. It took firefighters about an hour to extinguish the fire, which caused no injuries, Battalion Chief Mike Thompson said in a news release.
Thompson estimated the damage at $80,000. The fire apparently was caused by an electrical problem.
Volunteers search recyclables for clues
PUYALLUP, Wash. – Volunteers sifted through tons of paper at a recycling center Sunday, hoping to find items that Josh Powell may have dumped before killing himself and his two sons in a house fire last week.
The search, involving about 20 people from Pierce County Search and Rescue, was expected to last all day.
“What happened last weekend really affected me. I could see smoke from the home from here,” the recycling center’s manager, Don Taylor, told KOMO News. “It would make me feel good if they found something here that could help answer questions about this whole terrible thing.”
Powell was the husband of missing Utah woman Susan Powell. He attacked his 5- and 7-year-old sons with a hatchet Feb. 5, when a social worker brought the boys to his home for what was a supervised visit, and then ignited the house in a gas-fueled inferno.
Some investigators have called the act an admission of guilt in his wife’s death, but they’re still looking for evidence on that front. They also located a storage locker where Powell had stashed a comforter that tested positive for the presence of blood in an initial test. Further lab tests are pending.
Authorities received a tip that Josh Powell may have dumped some papers at the LRI recycling center in the days just before the deaths.
The volunteers arrived Sunday morning and began searching through more than 20,000 pounds of recycled paper, junk mail and newspapers.
Stretch of highway reopens after avalanche
BOISE – A 12-mile section of State Highway 21 that connects Boise with the central Idaho town of Stanley has reopened following an avalanche.
The Idaho Transportation Department says the section called “Avalanche Alley” between Grandjean Junction and Banner Summit opened Saturday after being closed Friday afternoon by an avalanche.
The Idaho Statesman reported that the closure was the third of the year for that section of the road.
The area has 60 avalanche chutes and accounts for 90 percent of avalanches that cause problems on Idaho highways.