Two seriously injured during storm

TWIN LAKES — Two young men were seriously injured Tuesday night when a large tree fell on the truck they were driving during the wind storm.

Jordan Simon, 22, and his best friend, Sheldon Cole, 22, were driving on Twin Lakes Road Tuesday evening around 5 p.m. According to Sheldon's mother, Shelley Cole, the friends were going to look at a truck that was for sale.

“They were just driving down the road and a tree fell from behind them and hit the cab of the truck,” she said. “They were five minutes from home and both of them were injured.”

A Kootenai Electric employee who found the truck with a large tree on it, reported it to police. Cole said Sheldon was in the passenger seat and sustained a concussion, but Simon’s injuries were much worse.

“We are still going through a pretty rough time,” Cole said during an interview Wednesday afternoon. “Simon is in surgery right now, and we believe his spine has been severed.”

Cole said doctors told Simon’s mother that he probably would never walk again.

“But we don't believe that,” she said. “He is a strong man, and we think he will walk again.”

Cole said Simon was starting to get some feeling in his side and one of his feet before he went into surgery.

“That is a good sign,” she said.

Cole said a friend has set up a GoFundMe account to help the Simon family with medical bills. Search under zip code 83844 and Jordan's Emergency Medical Help page will pop up. Friends and family had already donated nearly $2,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.

Cole said she hopes the community will help the family, because the storm devastated their home.

“Trees wiped out at least three of their vehicles and a camp trailer,” she said. “They couldn’t even get out of their driveway. They had to chain saw their way to the road.”

Cole said they are going to need a lot of help.

Cole’s son was treated and released from KootenaI Health, while Simon was transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he underwent a six-hour surgery to fix two fractured vertebrae.

“His C6 -T6 was fractured and stabilized with rods and pins. Twice as much as the x-ray showed,” Cole said in a text message Wednesday afternoon. “However, everything went well and he has the best chance for recovery that he can have.”

Cole said continued prayers are still very much needed.

“We are very hopeful for a walking Jordan once again,” she said. “Maybe with a cane, that is OK. So happy he is alive.”

Kootenai County Sheriff’s Lt. Stu Miller said that was the only injury he was aware of, but dispatchers took in nearly 800 calls in the 24-hour period. He said they received 300 calls between 3 and 7 p.m.

Miller said one of the hardest-hit areas was at the 11th Street Marina, where at least two boats sank and several more washed out into the lake.

Police Chief Lee White said the city of Coeur d’Alene was busy as well.

“This was a challenging incident because of the scope of the incident and the volume of calls, but I was impressed with the manner in which our men and women in uniform handled the crisis and worked cooperatively to protect our community,” White said.

City Street Superintendent Tim Martin said the priority for city crews is to open at least one lane in every roadway affected. Three crews are currently on duty and addressing high-traffic areas first.

“We are working with Avista crews and still finding power lines down that need to be dealt with first, but hope to have the entire city cleaned up by the weekend,” Martin said.

Deputy Fire Chief Glenn Lauper said fire department personnel are assisting in assessing damages and prioritizing repairs. All crews are also available to respond to regular calls for service.

Coeur d'Alene Animal Control officers worked their normal shifts during the windstorm. Laurie Deus, Coeur d'Alene Animal Control officer, said even though the storm was similar to a loud and anxiety-inducing Fourth of July — when many fearful canines escape yards and run for cover — the community's dogs were mostly kept safe in their homes.

No major pet emergencies occurred during the windstorm, she said.

“All day long it was kind of OK,” Deus said Wednesday. “This morning I expected to have a lot of dogs at large, and I did have a few. It was people who let their dogs out this morning and realized their fences were broken."

She said two of the three dogs that were reported out Wednesday morning had already been returned by midday. She said one family found a 13-year-old dog during the storm, kept it safe and posted on social media, so it was happily returned to its owners.

"If you lose a dog or find a dog, call Animal Control first and put an ad on Craigslist and Facebook," she advised, adding even if Animal Control officers are off duty, dispatch can also help reunite animals with their people.

"They're like matchmakers," she said.