Mysterious crash near Hauser Lake
KAYE THORNBRUGH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 3 months AGO
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. | June 9, 2022 1:06 AM
HAUSER — Local law enforcement is searching for answers after a mysterious car crash Tuesday night.
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a possible traffic collision near Hauser Lake that may have caused a vehicle to go into the water.
Deputies reportedly located a vehicle upside-down on Cliff House Road, but nobody was around.
KCSO’s dive team searched extensively in the immediate area of the lake, but didn’t find any people or vehicles.
Hannah Smith, who lives near the crash site, told The Press she noticed an unusual sound when she opened a window around 10:45 p.m. Tuesday.
“It was such a weird sound, striking this perfect note,” she said. “It didn’t sound like a car horn. It sounded like a siren going off.”
Because some of her neighbors own cannons and air raid sirens, Smith said she initially thought the noise was coming from a nearby home.
“The weirdest stuff happens around Hauser,” she said.
About an hour later, the noise had stopped — and Smith noticed law enforcement in the area.
Undersheriff Brett Nelson said KCSO had cleared the scene and towed the vehicle by Wednesday morning.
Law enforcement is reportedly investigating the crash as a possible hit and run.
Those with information about the crash are asked to contact the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office at 208-446-1300.
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