POCATELLO — Idaho State Police responded to a multiple-vehicle crash in the northbound lanes of Interstate 15 near the Pocatello Creek Road exit in Pocatello. The accident sent four people to the hospital and closed the interstate for more than two hours.
Adam B. Schrand, 42, of Apache Junction, Arizona, was southbound in a 2001 Ford pickup pulling a 2015 Genesis camper trailer/toy hauler when the front tire on the pickup blew out.
Schrand drove through the median and into the northbound lanes of travel, where he collided with Luke Viernow, 37, of Pleasant View, Utah, who was northbound in a 2001 Freightliner tractor pulling a commercial trailer.
Kadee Smith, of Pocatello, witnessed the accident, which happened at about 12:30 p.m.
“Their trailer and truck flipped and was just smashed,” Smith said. “A lot of people stopped, and the truck driver was trying to help them out of the (pickup).”
Smith was on her way back to work at Farm Bureau Insurance after her lunch break when she came upon the crash scene. A passenger in her car immediately dialed 911.
According to police reports, all subjects involved in the crash were wearing seat belts.
Schrand and three occupants in his vehicle were transported by ground ambulance to the Portneuf Medical Center.
Schrand was treated and released. Condition updates weren’t available on the three others.
“It was fortunate that no one was killed,” Smith said. “It just put a pit in my stomach, and I avoided the interstate all day.”
The accident remains under investigation.