Recent vehicle collisions lead to injuries 

Teen inattention leads to Wolf Lodge collision

A Coeur d'Alene teen escaped serious injury this morning when the vehicle he was driving crossed the center line of Wolf Lodge Frontage Road and crashed into an oncoming East Side Highway District dump truck.

The 16-year-old male was transported to Kootenai Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, reports the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office.

The teen was driving a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta westbound when he failed to negotiate a curve, drove into the eastbound lane and collided with the front left tire of the dump truck driven by John M. Rider, 60, of Coeur d'Alene.

Rider, who was not injured, told sheriff's department responders that he observed the teen's vehicle come into his lane of travel and attempted to pull to the road's shoulder, but the passenger car still collided with the side of the truck.

Driver inattention on the part of the teen is reported to be the cause of the crash.

Fifth wheel trailer disconnects, causes crash

A Montana man was injured in a crash on Interstate 90 on Wednesday when the trailer he was towing became disconnected from the pickup he was driving.

According to the Idaho State Police, John O. Carpenter, 65, De Borgia, Mont., was eastbound near Pinehurst in a 1999 GMC Sonoma pickup when the fifth-wheel trailer broke loose of the truck and hit a guardrail about 7 p.m.

Police said Carpenter was not wearing a seat belt.

Carpenter was taken to Kootenai Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition on Thursday.