Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Crash near Galena Summit injures 2

Victims flown by helicopter to Boise hospital

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By EXPRESS STAFF
Express Staff Writer

Photo by Doug Greene-- Emergency responders prepare to haul a burned Chevrolet pickup truck away from the accident scene Saturday.

Two people were transported by air ambulance to a Boise hospital following a one-car accident Saturday afternoon near Galena Summit, north of Ketchum.

"Both patients suffered serious injuries, but not life-threatening," said Ketchum Fire Department Chief Mike Elle. "We basically packaged them and put them in the ambulance."

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The victims were flown by air ambulance to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. Their condition was not available Tuesday.

Elle said the accident occurred shortly before 3 p.m. on state Highway 75 on the north side of the summit, which divides the Wood River Valley from the Sawtooth Valley. He said the victims, who were traveling south, were "making a sweeping left-hand turn when they slid across the road into a rock wall about a mile north of the summit."

Elle said the vehicle, a full-size Chevrolet pickup, caught fire and was destroyed by the time firefighters arrived. The victims had been helped from the vehicle following the accident by other motorists.

"The delay between the accident and the call is significant," Elle said. "By the time we got there the vehicle had been on fire for at least half an hour. It completely destroyed the vehicle and melted the pavement underneath it. It took two engines worth of water and foam to put it out."

Highway 75 was blocked for at least 45 minutes while crews put out the fire and took care of the injured, Elle said.

Additional information, including the names of the victims, was not available Tuesday.