Trucker flown to hospital after blowing tire in narrow construction zone

A truck driver was flown to a hospital after a tire blow out in a narrow construction zone led to a serious accident involving multiple vehicles. 

The accident happened on Sunday, October 27th at 1:58 p.m. on Interstate 84 near milepost 170 between Jerome and Twin Falls, Idaho. 

According to KMTV, a semi truck was heading west on I-84 in a construction zone with no shoulder when it experienced a tire blowout, sending the rig crashing into the center barrier. The force of the impact pushed the concrete barrier into the eastbound lanes, causing a Chevy Tahoe and a Chevy Equinox to crash. The semi truck then overturned and caught fire. 

The truck driver was able to escape the flaming tractor trailer, but was soon flown to a hospital via helicopter. Several people inside of the Tahoe were also taken to a hospital, but no people inside of the Equinox sought medical attention. 

Crews spent 30 minutes battling the flames from the semi truck. The westbound lanes of I-84 were shut down for 12 hours for cleanup of the incident, while the eastbound lanes were closed for about five hours. 

The accident is still under investigation. In light of the crash, Idaho State Police advise people traveling in the construction zone to stay extra alert while in the area. 

“We have cones, you have limited lane space such as the Jerome Winding project. We have concrete barriers on both sides of the road,” Sgt. Benjamin Foster said.“So if something happens such as a car has to dodge another, there is not room for people to escape that.”

“There’s a lot of people looking down, whether that’s at their cellphone or the screen in their car or whatever,” added Kale Weekes, the Traffic Control Coordinator. “I just look and see a lot of people looking down or not looking at the road and paying attention to where they are going.”

“If it takes 15 minutes to get somewhere, leave 20 minutes. Give yourself that extra bit of time. You are not feeling rushed, you won’t need to speed,” Foster continued. “You won’t need to crowd the car in front of you and that’ll give you time to react.”