Helicopter

An air ambulance helicopter takes off.

BLACKFOOT — A 21-year-old Blackfoot man and a child have died from injuries sustained in a two-vehicle crash Tuesday afternoon in the city’s east side, Idaho State Police said.

State police said the deceased Blackfoot man, Joseph Crippen, was driving southbound on Merkley Lane in 2015 Dodge Caravan hauling four passengers. Police said Jared King, 39, of Wales, Utah, was driving westbound on Rich Lane in a 2012 Kenworth semi-truck hauling an empty cattle trailer.

Police said Crippen failed to yield and was struck by the truck. Police said the impact knocked Crippen’s van into a nearby power pole, and the van came to rest in an irrigation canal on the south side of Rich Lane. The semi-truck and trailer jackknifed and blocked Rich Lane, which was closed to traffic for about seven hours, police said.

Police said the occupants of Crippen’s vehicle had to be extricated. Crippen was transported by air-ambulance to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries, police said. Crippen’s passengers, Harley Childers, 26, of Blackfoot, and two juveniles were transported by ground ambulance to Bingham Memorial Hospital.

One juvenile died and the other was flown by air-ambulance to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. The fourth passenger, Madison Degiulio, 18, was transported by ground ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello.

State police responded to the crash at about 4:15 p.m. and were assisted by Blackfoot Fire Department and EMS, Fort Hall EMS, Blackfoot Police Department, and Bingham County Sheriff’s Office. King was not transported.

Recommended for you

Welcome to the discussion!

The Idaho State Journal invites you to take part in the community conversation. But those who don't play nice may be uninvited.

Comments that are:

  • off topic
  • defamatory
  • libelous
  • obscene
  • racist
  • abusive
  • threatening
  • an invasion of privacy (doxxing)
  • profane (including attempts to misspell profanity in order to get around the profanity filter)

will be deleted. Repeat offenders will lose commenting privileges.

Comments are opinions of the author only, and do not reflect the opinions or views of Idaho State Journal.