Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Two vehicle crash southbound I15 at milepost 86, north of Fort Hall

IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer
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Idaho State Police
District 5 5255 S. 5th Avenue, Suite 2
Pocatello, Idaho 83204
(208) 239-9800 FAX: (208) 239-9885

For Immediate Release: 7/24/18 7:24 p.m.
Please direct questions to the District Office

On Tuesday, July 24, 2018 at approximately 4:23 p.m., Idaho State Police investigated a two-vehicle, injury crash southbound I15 at milepost 86, six miles north of Fort Hall.

Sandra Smith, 49, of Rigby was southbound on I15 in a 2005 Subaru Legacy. Kristin Derouen, 19, of Pocatello, was behind the Subaru in a 2002 Nissan Sentra.

At approximately 4:00 p.m., a commercial vehicle had struck an overpass in the area, causing debris to fall in the roadway. Multiple vehicles were stopped with flat tires, which was causing traffic to slow down. The Subaru was slowing down when the Nissan struck it from behind. The Subaru came to rest in the median and the Nissan came to rest partially blocking the southbound left lane. Both drivers were wearing seatbelts. Smith was transported to Portneuf Regional Medical Center in Pocatello by ground ambulance.

The Nissan caught fire, which started a grass fire in the median. The northbound lanes were blocked due to visibility issues caused by the smoke.

The southbound left lane was blocked for approximately one hour and twenty minutes. Both northbound lanes were blocked for approximately fifteen minutes, and the right lane was blocked for an additional twenty five minutes.

The crash is under investigation by Idaho State Police.


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