Couple arrested after crashing into sleeping woman’s bedroom

AMERICAN FALLS — A Polson, Montana, couple was arrested early Sunday after crashing through the bedroom of an American Falls home, sending the resident to the emergency room.

Scott Alan Soderquist, 45, and Jewelia Taneya Evange Holsapple, 27, were arrested around 1 a.m., American Falls Police Chief Brandon Wilkinson told EastIdahoNews.com.

Soderquist has been charged with a felony for driving under the influence, while Holsapple faces a misdemeanor charge for resisting and obstructing arrest.

The crash occurred around 12:45 a.m., according to 68-year-old Patricia Kavanaugh, who was awakened when a vehicle, driven by Soderquist, crashed through her wall and into her bed.

Kavanaugh described the incident, telling EastIdahoNews.com that she was asleep one minute, then screaming and bleeding the next.

“There were bright lights, and the engine was roaring. There was dust everywhere and blood everywhere,” she said. “(The truck) came through the bedroom in the middle of the night. It took out the whole bedroom wall, completely demolished my bed and threw me eight feet.”

Due to intense shock and pain, Kavanaugh could not steady her hand to call 911. She was able to get in touch with her daughter using speed-dial and asked for her to call for help, but a neighbor had already made the call by then.

Kavanaugh said that a commercial truck Soderquist had been driving crashed through her bedroom wall that faced Jefferson Street at the intersection of Tyhee Avenue. The truck came through the wall with enough force to throw Kavanaugh from her bed, and scatter brick, mortar and glass through her bedroom door and into the living room of her apartment.

When the truck came to rest, it did so with its front wheel on the bed where she had been sleeping only seconds before.

What Kavanaugh called “a night to remember” included an ambulance ride to the emergency room, where she was treated for multiple injuries, including a gash on her head that required eight staples.

Kavanaugh spent Sunday moving her belongings into another apartment at the American Falls Housing Authority Senior Living Facility.

But when bedtime rolled around, she was unable to comfortably lie in her own bed.

“Last night was rough,” she said. “I had trouble going to sleep in my bed. I heard every vehicle that went by — and maybe even a few vehicles that didn’t go by.”

She finally felt safe enough to sleep sitting on her sofa in another room.

Kavanaugh is hopeful that the mental wear of the incident will subside soon enough. As for the physical toll, she joked that despite having dealt with numerous injuries in her life, this is the first time she has had her head stapled.

“I’m bruised and scraped up and hurt like heck,” she said, “but I’ve been hurt this bad falling off a horse really good.”

Soderquist is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 25.