KINGSTON – A young woman who became jammed between her car and a ferry ticket booth Tuesday at the Kingston Ferry Terminal was quickly rescued by bystanders, who saved her life, according to North Kitsap Fire and Rescue.
While the woman was attempting to purchase a ticket, a piece of paper flew from her wallet. As she opened her door to retrieve it, her car rolled forward. The woman was trapped between the side of her car and her open door.
The ferry employee screamed for help. One bystander entered the car’s passenger door and put the vehicle into “park.”
Others – as many as seven – worked together to lift the car’s front end away from the booth, freeing the driver. Another comforted the shaken and injured woman. The woman was conscious and alert when paramedics arrived. She was transported by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Her condition was unknown.
Kitsap Sun
Colville: Man gets six months for sex with teen
A former Columbia High School teacher has been sentenced to six months in jail for a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student who became pregnant and is now his wife.
Robert M. Swalstad, 31, also was ordered by Stevens County Superior Court Judge Allen Nielson not to have contact with any girls under the age of 18, with the exception of his now-16-year-old wife, Natasha Finley.
Swalstad pleaded guilty to a single gross misdemeanor charge of communication with a minor for immoral purposes. Swalstad, who must register as a sex offender, could be out of jail in four months with good behavior, Nielson said.
Associated Press
Seattle: State will pay in civil-rights case
A black woman who accused a Washington State Patrol trooper of race discrimination during a traffic stop in 2002 has agreed to a $250,000 settlement with the state.
In exchange for the deal, Shirley Lacy must drop the discrimination element of her civil-rights claim, therefore resolving the remaining allegation of police misconduct by trooper Karen Villeneuve, who is white.
Villeneuve’s behavior is being investigated by internal affairs, said Capt. Jeff DeVere, a patrol spokesman.
Associated Press
Olympia: Gregoire picks up tab for trapping
Gov. Chris Gregoire personally paid for trapping animals around the executive mansion that were threatening her small dog.
The governor paid $150 to defray costs incurred by the state for removing a raccoon and an opossum. The State Patrol, which is responsible for security at the mansion, hired the trapper.
Critics called it a waste of taxpayer money. Chris Vance, then chairman of the state Republican Party, said, “The arrogance is amazing.” He added that ordinary citizens don’t have state troopers trapping wild animals that are threatening their pets.
Gregoire, whose Pomeranian, Franz, was killed by a car this week, paid the trapper’s bill out of her private bank account, spokeswoman Holly Armstrong said.
Associated Press
Sedro-Woolley: Man killed by federal agents
An armed man was shot and killed by federal agents early Wednesday in a home just east of this Cascade foothills town.
Authorities said the man, who was sought for questioning in a methamphetamine trafficking case, failed to comply with agents’ commands.
Agents fired when the man pointed a handgun at a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, said Rodney Benson, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Seattle field office.
The dead man was identified as Jose Manuel Villa-Garcia.
Associated Press
Tacoma: Three people found dead in house
Three people were found dead Wednesday in a Tacoma house, a police spokeswoman said.
The dead – two men and a woman, all believed to be in their 20s – were found midafternoon by a friend, police spokeswoman Tracy Conaway said. The friend knocked on the door, and when there was no answer, found the door was unlocked and went inside. The friend called police.
“It’s definitely homicide on all three, homicidal violence,” Conaway said.
The house is near the University of Puget Sound campus.
Associated Press
Oregon: BLM restores funds for logging study
A federal agency restored funding Wednesday for a study that has provided hard evidence for conservationists opposing the Bush administration’s policy of logging after wildfires.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s decision to lift its suspension of the final year of a three-year grant came after Oregon State University said it had complied with provisions that barred it from using any grant money to lobby Congress and required its researchers to inform a BLM scientist about plans to publish in a scientific journal.
“Both sides have agreed to work together to continue the long productive relationship gathering science and data on the ground,” said BLM spokesman Chris Strebig.
Associated Press
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