Kalispell man dies after hitting logging truck

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) — An elderly man who drove down the wrong lane on U.S. 95 before colliding with a logging truck last week has died.

The Coeur d’Alene Press reports James Leslie, an 85-year-old from Kalispell died Sunday after injuries sustained Dec. 19 when his Toyota Avalon struck a logging truck just before 7 a.m.

Leslie, who was not wearing a seat belt at the time, was driving northbound in the southbound lanes at the time of the collision approximately 10 miles south of Coeur d’Alene, according to a report from Idaho State Police.

Dec. 19 marked the largest single-day snowstorm of the year in the region, creating hazardous conditions that resulted in at least 39 morning traffic accidents and slide-offs in Kootenai County.

The report indicated that several other vehicles attempted to warn Leslie he was driving in the wrong lane before he struck the southbound logging truck driven by 49-year-old Robert Henson of Troy. Henson, who was wearing his seat belt at the time, was not injured.

Leslie was transported by ambulance to Kootenai Health.

“(Leslie) was in pretty rough shape,” Idaho State Police Sgt. Sean Lind said after the accident. “The guy was just in the wrong lane when he hit. Weather was a factor. Fatigue was a factor ... I think a younger man might have walked away OK, but he was hurt pretty bad.”