A 70-year-old California woman was in critical condition Tuesday morning at a Boise hospital after being injured in a two-vehicle collision late Monday afternoon at Timmerman Junction south of Bellevue.
The Blaine County Sheriff’s Office identified the woman as Nellie Olizieri, of Downey, Calif. She was a passenger in a black 2013 Ford Focus driven by her husband, Abel Olizieri, 68, also of Downey. Sheriff’s Capt. Curtis Miller said Abel Olizieri was not injured but that his wife suffered a broken rib and internal injuries.
Miller said Nellie Olizieri was initially transported by ground ambulance to St. Luke’s Wood River and flown from there by emergency helicopter to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.
The other vehicle involved was a Mountain Rides Transportation Authority commuter van, a white 2003 Ford, driven by Rafael Garibay-Rioa, 69, of Gooding. Miller said Garibay-Rioa and five of six passengers in the van were transported by ambulance to St. Luke’s Wood River hospital because of “neck and back pain.”
He said none of the van occupants received serious injuries.
Miller said the occupants in both vehicles were wearing seatbelts.
The accident occurred shortly after 4:30 p.m. at Timmerman Junction, where state Highway 75 intersects with U.S. Highway 20. The Olizieri vehicle was westbound on U.S. 20 and the Mountain Rides van was southbound on Highway 75.
Miller said the Olizieri vehicle stopped at the blinking red light and then pulled out into the path of the van. He said the vehicles collided on their front corners, spinning the Olizieri vehicle to a 90-degree angle. He said both vehicles traveled south about 160 feet before coming to a stop.
Miller said the accident would likely have been worse had the impact been directly into the side of the Olizieri vehicle.
He said Abel Olizieri will be issued a citation alleging failure to yield.
