Loud wake-up call
<p>Jamie Dilley, business manager for the Findlay Nissan auto dealership in Post Falls, assesses crash damage on Monday. Four new vehicles were damaged, including at least two that were totaled. Kootenai County resident Brady Hansen told police that he fell asleep while driving eastbound on Polston Avenue on Sunday night before colliding into the vehicles. The Ford F250 Hansen was driving was also heavily damaged and flipped on its side. Hansen suffered minor injuries and was cited for inattentive driving. Jamie Dilley, business manager for the Findlay Nissan auto dealership in Post Fal…
POST FALLS - Four new Nissan vehicles with a combined value of $105,000 were smashed Sunday morning by a driver who apparently fell asleep at the wheel.
John Gervais, the general manager of the Findlay dealerships in Post Falls, said it could have been much worse.
"If this would have happened in Vegas, the person probably would have fled and there would have been a shooting," said Gervais, who recently moved here from Las Vegas. "The driver apologized and said, if his insurance wouldn't cover it, he would. He couldn't have handled it any better - other than the driving part."
Kootenai County resident Brady J. Hansen told police he was eastbound on Polston Avenue at 8:20 p.m. on Sunday at the Findlay auto dealerships and next to the Post Falls police station when he fell asleep and crashed into the new vehicles in Nissan's overflow lot on the north side of the street.
According to the investigation, the Ford F250 truck Hansen was driving rumbled over a center landscaped median on Polston and the curb on the north side of the street before striking the vehicles and flipping onto its side.
Hansen, who sustained minor injuries and was not transported to the hospital, was cited for inattentive driving.
At least two of the vehicles, a 2015 Nissan Altima valued at $25,000 and a 2014 Nissan Xterra valued at $30,000, were totaled. A second Altima may be totalled as well, pending an assessment, and a third Altima sustained heavy damage.
"We just received this shipment (of vehicles) and needed to pull the plastic off to put them on the lot," Gervais said. "They've only been off the transport truck for 48 hours. You can't get them any fresher."
Gervais said he was surprised at how much damage the crash caused, especially for being in the city.
"It took a pretty good punch to make it happen," he said.
Hansen told police he fell asleep and woke up to a loud noise and a lot of dust and smoke. He said he could not remember anything else.
Drugs and alcohol are not believed to be involved in the crash.