Trial postponed in crash case

SANDPOINT — The trial of a Canadian man accused of causing a head-on collision on U.S. Highway 95 is being postponed to allow for more discovery in the case.

Mihail G. Lazaresku was scheduled to go on trial Thursday in Bonner County Magistrate Court on a charge of inattentive/careless driving, but the proceeding was postponed because his defense attorney is still awaiting an Idaho State Police vehicle collision report with no redactions and summaries of witnesses’ expected testimony, according to court documents.

A Russian translator has been lined up to assist with Lazaresku’s defense, although it has slowed communication in the case, court records show.

A Montana man told state police that he was heading northbound when Lazaresku’s southbound sport utility vehicle crashed head-on into his SUV. The crash happened near the Selkirk Fire Rescue & EMS station in Careywood on Nov. 28, 2015.

Three eyewitnesses to the collision told state police they say the left-turn signal activated on Lazaresku’s SUV and it moved to the northbound lane, the report said. The witnesses said they weren’t sure if the driver was trying to overtake vehicles ahead of him or trying to turn left off the highway, although they were certain about the turn signal being activated prior to the crash.

Lazaresku, 75, of Wyndell, British Columbia, told the trooper that he only saw oncoming headlights immediately before the crash, the report said.