Roller-coaster fall kills fair worker
County sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Smith said Doug McKay was spraying lubricant on the tracks of the "Super Loop 2" when his long hair got caught in one of the roller-coaster cars and he was carried into the air. McKay, from Post Falls, Idaho, fell and struck a fence that encircles the ride.
Smith said fairgoers, including some who were on the ride, saw the accident. McKay and his wife co-own Paradise Amusements, which has provided the fair with rides for the past three years.
Smith said local firefighters set up grief-counseling stations at the fair yesterday afternoon. She said the Super Loop 2 will remain closed for the remainder of the fair, which ends today.
Seattle area man missing; son washes safely ashore
ILWACO, Wash. — A Seattle area man who attempted to rescue his son in the Columbia River was missing last night after a Coast Guard search of more than six hours.
Alexander Melnichenko, 35, was trying to rescue his son Andrew, 11, who was caught in an undertow yesterday afternoon off the north jetty where the Columbia meets the Pacific Ocean.
Andrew washed safely ashore and was in stable condition last night at an area hospital, Petty Officer Anthony Juarez said.
But Melnichenko was missing at sunset, when the Coast Guard suspended its search.
Juarez said Melnichenko and his son were in the area for a family camping trip. The Coast Guard was to consider whether to resume the search today, at dawn this morning, he added.
Sailor killed in I-5 crash; driver reportedly fell asleep
OLYMPIA — A 19-year-old sailor stationed on the USS Abraham Lincoln was killed yesterday when the car he was in crashed into a concrete barrier on Interstate 5.
Bernard Lewis of New York was sleeping in the front passenger seat when the driver, fellow sailor Sylvester Robinson, also fell asleep, according to the Washington State Patrol.
The car struck a barrier on southbound I-5 in Olympia about 5 a.m. Lewis, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the car and died at the scene.
Robinson was treated at a nearby hospital for minor injuries. Investigators said alcohol and drugs were not a factor in the accident but that they are considering citing Robinson for second-degree negligent driving.
Pilot dies as small plane crashes in Pierce County
MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK — An experimental plane crashed yesterday just north of Mount Rainier National Park, killing the pilot.
The plane went down about 4 p.m. in the Buck Creek area of Pierce County, about three miles north of the park's boundary and one mile east of Highway 410.
Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said last night that authorities had recovered a body they believe to be that of a 58-year-old King County resident but had not confirmed the pilot's identity. Authorities weren't sure where the pilot took off, Troyer said.
The fixed-wing, single-engine plane, called the Avid Magnum, was built last year and is owned by a 58-year-old SeaTac man, according to aircraft-registration records.
Troyer said the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board had been notified of the accident.
Fire east of Darrington has been mostly contained
DARRINGTON, Snohomish County — The U.S. Forest Service said yesterday that a 170-acre fire east of here has been 75 percent contained. Fire crews were mopping up smoldering hot spots and new small fires.
The fire, which started five miles east of Darrington, was reported Aug. 5. It has cost an estimated $2.3 million to fight, according to the Forest Service.
Parts of Gold Hill Road remain closed. Drivers on the Mountain Loop Highway are asked to be careful because of fire traffic. The Snake River has reopened to all boating and river rafting, according to the Forest Service.
Drunken woman says she killed spouse; body found
MARYSVILLE — An intoxicated woman told firefighters at a Marysville station north of Everett last night that she had shot and killed her husband at home, according to Jan Jorgensen, spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities said they went to the scene and found the body.
The major-crimes unit of the sheriff's office was interviewing the woman last night and planned to book her into jail.
No further details were available.
State couple plead guilty in Internet drug investigation
TACOMA — An Olympic Peninsula couple have pleaded guilty to federal charges of growing and possessing "magic mushrooms," the spores for which they sold on the Internet.
Robert W. and Margaret M. McPherson, of Amanda Park in Grays Harbor County, agreed to give up two homes, real estate and $78,286 in cash as part of the plea deal. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 31.
The two were indicted in February, along with a business partner. Robert McPherson, 56, pleaded guilty to a felony count of growing mushrooms containing the hallucinogenic psilocin and a misdemeanor count of possessing the drug.
His wife pleaded guilty to possessing psilocin.
Times staff and news services