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Fatal crash hearing waived

KAYE THORNBRUGH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 10 months AGO
by KAYE THORNBRUGH
Kaye Thornbrugh is a second-generation Kootenai County resident who has been with the Coeur d’Alene Press for six years. She primarily covers Kootenai County’s government, as well as law enforcement, the legal system and North Idaho College. | November 21, 2020 1:00 AM

COEUR d’ALENE — A woman accused of causing a fatal crash driving the wrong way on I-90 was bound over to district court.

Christine M. Cann, 57, was charged with felony vehicular manslaughter after a head-on collision that killed 24-year-old Spokane Valley resident Jeremy T. Scherer on Sept. 11.

Police said Cann was driving west in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 90 around 12:30 p.m. when her 2020 Toyota RAV4 hit Scherer’s Chevy Sonic.

The collision with Cann caused Scherer's car to spin sideways, where he was struck on his driver’s side by another vehicle, Idaho State Police reported.

Scherer died of his injuries.

Trooper Michael Archer with ISP said he smelled alcohol on Cann when he responded to the crash, according to court documents.

Archer said Cann told him at the scene that she “had a rum” at 6 a.m. after spending the night at a friend’s house. He said her eyes were glassy and bloodshot, according to court documents, and her speech was slurred.

Dash cam footage released in September shows a gray SUV traveling the wrong way on the eastbound interstate before the crash. Several eastbound drivers are seen swerving to miss the SUV.

Cann has no previous criminal record. She was released in September on $75,000 bail.

Cann’s preliminary hearing was postponed several times before it was waived this week. The case has been referred to the district court for further action.

Arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 3.

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