Multiple crashes caused by weather, speeding, alcohol
By MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writer
?It has been accident week,? said Blaine County Chief Deputy Gene Ramsey at a press briefing, Monday. ?After the first snows, we see more accidents.?
From Nov. 2 to Nov. 6, no fewer than five accidents, most involving two cars, resulted in injuries or considerable property damage. Several more drivers simply slid off the road during the week.
Ramsey said drivers often neglect to allow enough stopping distance when streets first get slick in the beginning of winter. Drivers of four-wheel drive sports utility vehicles are often victims of the slides, Ramsey said.
?When you?re sliding they don?t stop any better than anything else,? Ramsey said.
On Nov. 2 at about 5:25 p.m. Michael J. Sheehan, 17, of Hailey collided with Peinado Quinones Yecenia, 28, of Shoshone, who was waiting for a driver to make a left turn onto Treasure Lane, north of Hailey, Ramsey said. Sheehan was cited for inattentive driving and not wearing a seatbelt. Quinones Yecenia was transported to St. Luke?s Wood River Medical Center, where she was treated and released.
Just before 8 a.m. Nov. 3, Brandon Swainston, 20, of Richfield collided with Kimberly Stevenson, 44, of Sun Valley in one of the curves on Valley Club Drive when Swainston slid into the oncoming lane, Ramsey said. Stevenson was transported with her two teenagers, and a third teenager to St. Luke?s where Stevenson and the children were treated for injuries and released.
Three hours later, Brian Alkire, 18, of Bellevue, driving a Chevy Blazer, smashed into the plow on the back of a moving tractor on Highway 75 near the Flying Hat Ranch, south of Friedman Memorial Airport. The driver of the tractor did not notice the impact of the Blazer with the plow, which smashed the Blazer?s windshield and stuck on the vehicle?s dashboard, Ramsey said. The tractor proceeded to drag the Blazer about one-quarter mile to Bellevue where a driver was able to overtake the tractor and wave the driver over, said Bellevue Marshal Randy Tremble.
On Thursday, Nov. 4 at about 4:15 a.m. Christofer C. Graham, 19, of Gooding, while delivering the Times News newspaper, swerved to avoid a deer and plunged over an embankment and crashed into a gazebo at a home on Tendoy Street in the Chantrelle subdivision in Bellevue.
Twelve hours later there was a non-injury collision at the Timmerman Hill junction of U.S. 20 and State Highway 75 at about 4 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 6, Blaine County police arrested Craig McDonald, 35, of Hailey for a DUI after he crashed in the construction zone on Highway 75 near Dean Tire and St. Luke?s. The single car crash occurred after McDonald, who had previously been stopped by police in Ketchum, drove off at a high rate of speed at about 2 a.m., Ramsey said.
Ketchum police pursued McDonald at speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour until McDonald went over an embankment and crashed. He was found unconscious and transported to St. Luke?s by ambulance. McDonald was given a blood alcohol test, cited for a DUI, not wearing a seat belt and for not having a driver?s license or insurance. McDonald was treated and released from the hospital.
