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No charges yet in two-crash incident

by KEITH COUSINS/kcousins@cdapress.com
| August 19, 2014 9:00 PM

COEUR d'ALENE - A civil complaint has been filed in connection with two related vehicle collisions that took place on Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive in January.

But criminal charges against Kara Powers, 33, who is accused of causing both wrecks, are still pending.

On Jan. 21, Patricia Desmet, 61, was driving her Subaru onto Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive when a Mercedes SUV, allegedly driven by Powers, approached on the wrong side of the road. Desmet attempted to swerve away, but was unsuccessful.

A good Samaritan, Coeur d'Alene resident Sheri Bullock, 42, pulled her Volvo SUV over and left her three children inside as she went to check on the drivers involved in the crash. At that point, Powers allegedly walked over to the good Samaritan's Volvo and got into it.

With Bullock's three children still inside, Powers reportedly attempted to drive away in Bullock's vehicle. After what Kootenai County Sheriff's Lt. Stu Miller described as a "brief scuffle," Bullock was able to get her children from the car. Powers then reportedly took off in the Volvo at high speeds and eventually rear-ended a Dodge pickup on Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive near Potlatch Hill. Both vehicles rolled over multiple times.

William Akin, the 48-year-old driver of the pickup, was in serious condition after the second crash, and was released from Kootenai Health on Jan. 31.

On Aug. 12, Akin's attorneys filed a civil complaint against Powers and an unnamed male, alleging that the collision caused "severe and permanent personal injuries."

"... William G. Akin was unable to pursue his usual employment, suffered lost wages, suffered an ability to pursue certain employment and will suffer inability to pursue certain employment in the future," the complaint states.

The civil complaint states that Akin is seeking more than $100,000 in damages and is asking for a jury to hear the matter.

Miller told The Press on July 2 that the sheriff's office investigation into the incident was completed and sent to the county prosecutor's office for a charging decision.

However, according to Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh, the matter was recently sent back to sheriff's office detectives for further investigation. Once that is completed, McHugh's office will make a determination on whether or not the county will file criminal charges against Powers.