Pair of North Idaho motorcycle crashes kills 1 in Hayden, injures another in Rathdrum on Thursday

Garrett Cabeza, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
·1 min read

May 5—A 29-year-old Dalton Gardens, Idaho, man died while riding a motorcycle Thursday in Hayden.

Kootenai County Sheriff's Office deputies, the Northern Lakes Fire District and the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department responded around 2:30 p.m. to Fourth Street and Honeysuckle Avenue for the single-vehicle crash, according to a sheriff's office news release.

The motorcyclist, Sheldon Phelan, died at the scene. Moments before the crash, the same motorcycle was reported to be driving erratically at a high speed, the sheriff's office said. Investigators believe speed caused the crash.

Fourth Street from Prairie to Honeysuckle avenues was closed for a few hours as the sheriff's office investigated.

A couple hours later in Rathdrum, a 59-year-old motorcyclist was sent to the hospital after a collision with an SUV, according to an Idaho State Police news release.

A 28-year-old Rathdrum man turned south in a Ford Explorer onto the interchange of state highways 41 and 53 when he collided with the motorcyclist who was riding east through the intersection, police said.

The motorcyclist, a Blanchard, Idaho, man, was wearing a helmet. ISP is investigating the crash.

Police did not release the names of those involved in that crash.