8-14-2019 Express

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2019

Volume 44 | Number 76 | 4 Sections | 52 Pages S U N

V A L L E Y

K E T C H U M

H A I L E Y

B E L L E V U E

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C A R E Y

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IDAHO MOUNTAIN

Hailey fire chief plans his departure Page 3

Journey singer headlines concert

P&Z moves hotel plan to City Council

Arts & Events, Page 1

Page 4

ITD schedules work on state Highway 75 Page 11

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5 felonies charged after fatal crash kills 3 children Sheriff: Fairfield man suspected of DUI rear-ended motorists BY ALEJANDRA BUITRAGO

A

Express Staff Writer

Fairfield man has been charged with five felonies in connection with a two-vehicle accident that killed three children and seriously injured two adults early Saturday morning on U.S. Highway 20 west of Timmerman Junction, in southern Blaine County. According to the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office, deputies and first responders were dispatched to an area on Highway 20 about 5 miles west of Timmerman Junction around 1:19 a.m. for a report of a two-vehicle accident. The crash happened at the site of a temporary traffic signal for an Idaho Transportation Department bridge construction project just east of Hot Springs Landing. Upon arrival, deputies found a white 1995 Dodge pickup, driven by Matthew Richard Park, 45, of Fairfield, in the road with extensive front-end damage, the Sheriff’s Office reported. The second vehicle, a Blue 2000 Dodge Neon, driven by Somchai Ray Lee Lurak, 26, of Mountain Home, had extensive rear-end damage. Also in Lurak’s vehicle were his fiancée, Emma Weigand, 26, of Mountain Home, and Lurak’s three daughters, ages 3, 5 and 6. All three children were in car seats. The investigation by deputies determined that Lurak was driving west on Highway 20 and was stopped at the construction site light when Park, also traveling west, collided with the rear of the Dodge Neon in the westbound lane. Two of the children, the 5- and 6-year-olds, were pronounced dead at the scene, and the 3-year-old died later at St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Lurak and Weigand were also transported to St. Luke’s Wood River, and Weigand was later transferred to St. Alphonsus hospital in Boise for her injuries. Park, the driver of the Dodge pickup, appeared uninjured and declined medical assistance. Deputies noticed at the scene that Park showed signs of intoxication, the Sheriff’s Office reported. He was given a field sobriety test and he provided breath samples for concentrations of alcohol. According to court records, his breath tests registered 0.191/0.189. The legal limit in Idaho is 0.08. Park was charged with three felony counts of vehicular manslaughter, with a maximum sentence of 15 years per charge, and two felony aggravated DUIs, which also carry a maximum sentence of 15 years per charge. If convicted, Park could spend up to 75 years in prison. Park appeared at an initial court appearance Monday in 5th District Court in Hailey via video conference from the Blaine County Detention Center. Judge Ted Israel issued a bond of $400,000 and ordered that if it is posted, Park will be required to wear a SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring system), which tests for alcohol levels through the skin. In addition, if Park is released from jail, he will be prohibited from consuming any alcohol or

Park is

scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 20.

See CRASH, Page 16

Express photo by Roland Lane

Four On The ‘Flore’ Bellevue resident Wes Ratliffe, 9, maneuvers his 4-H pig, Flore, around the Blaine County Fair show arena on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Carey. Flore was sold for $6.25 per pound in the animal sale auction, in which 4-H participants market animals they have raised to members of the community. The fair included a kids rodeo Friday night and a more advanced rodeo Saturday. The grand marshals of the fair were Wanda, Hohn and Heidi Peck, of Carey. Ratliffe called the event “a lot of fun.”

County, BLM move trail plan forward Commissioners back ‘range of alternatives’ for stalled travel plan By MARK DEE Express Staff Writer

After nearly two more months of public input, the Blaine County commissioners urged the BLM to move forward on planning a trio of alternatives for developing new trails to access its roughly 137,000 acres of regional public land in a meeting with agency representatives Tuesday.

Commissioner Angenie McCleary volunteered to write a letter formalizing the request, but the board’s wish was clear: to move forward on analyzing three smaller-scale substitutes to a stalled comprehensive travel management plan, halted in April by a directive of the Department of the Interior stopping development of all such projects nationwide, except those based on court order. But neither the commissioners, nor the BLM’s Shoshone Field Office, wanted to see that work collect dust. Tuesday’s meeting moved closer to launching environmental assessments based on the original ideas,

which were generated over the course of almost two years of public hearings, and a suite of ecological, economic, historical and cultural considerations stipulated by federal law. While the suspended travel management plan would have allowed the agency to revamp uses of existing trails as well as build new ones, environmental assessments only consider construction of new trails. “It’s still a public process,” Shoshone Office Field Manager Codie Martin said. “We’ll take a look at what has been provided to us. We’re See BLM, Page 16


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