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By Gabrielle Feliciano
Of The Miner
NEWPORT — Two car crashes occurred within hours of each other in downtown Newport Wednesday, May 6.
The first crash involved two vehicles, said Jennifer Krusing, chief of operations at South Pend Oreille Fire and Rescue, which responded to both crashes.
At about 7:48 a.m., a teenager was driving to school with another student when they arrived at the intersection of South Cass Avenue and West Fifth Street, Krusing said. An adult who was driving to work arrived at the intersection on the teens’ left, but neither teen saw them. As a result, the teens went into the intersection without yielding, hitting the other vehicle.
Both vehicles suffered moderate damage, Krusing said. All three were uninjured and wearing seatbelts.
Just three hours later at around 10:57 a.m., a driver was northbound on Highway 2 when she reached the traffic island at the intersection of Highway 2, South Washington Avenue and Fifth Street. The car ended up going through the traffic island in between the pedestrian crossing poles on either side, over the opposing street and into the wall of Seeber’s Pharmacy.
At some point, the driver also hit a directional street sign, Krusing said. It was unclear if the sign was managed by the city or the state Department of Transportation.
The driver was wearing her seatbelt but injured in the crash, though not severely. There was no one else in the vehicle besides her dog, which was uninjured and later picked up by her son. Seeber’s Pharmacy appeared to have suffered some aesthetic damage to the wall, Krusing said, but no structural damage.
