Crash suspect headed to district court

COEUR d’ALENE — A man who is accused of seriously injuring a mother and daughter who had to be extricated from a mangled Subaru that crashed on Interstate 90 will take his case to district court.

Ian Bolstad, 24, of Newport, Wash., who is charged with felony aggravated DUI, waived his preliminary hearing Thursday in Coeur d’Alene’s First District Magistrate Court, taking the case directly to the felony court setting.

A preliminary — or probable cause — hearing in magistrate court determines if enough evidence exists for a trial in district court.

Both Bolstad and his attorney, public defender Anne Taylor, agreed to waive the proceeding and move the case to the district court level.

Bolstad is accused of driving a blue Toyota pickup erratically and at high speeds July 29 on I-90 near Post Falls prompting 11 calls to authorities from motorists, according to Idaho State Police.

His driving allegedly resulted in a crash in which Ellen Brown, 57, of Coeur d’Alene, and Joelle Tanguay, 33, of Tumwater, Wash., received life-threatening injuries, according to an ISP report.

After the crash, Bolstad became unruly and resisted arrest requiring troopers to Taze him twice, according to police.

Bolstad told officers he was being chased and that he had taken methamphetamine. He refused to perform a field sobriety test, and police found an open bottle of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum in his pickup, according to police.

Troopers said Bolstad’s Toyota pickup drove into the rear of the Subaru Outback, pushing it into a construction zone where the Subaru crashed into a post and a concrete barrier.

Tanguay suffered head and spinal injuries and Brown’s leg was severely injured, requiring multiple surgeries.

Bolstad is also charged with two misdemeanors including obstructing police and open container. His next hearing has not been set. He is in jail on a $250,000 bond.