Alcohol a factor in Fourth of July Pass crash
What remains of the 2015 Ford Fusion that O’Connell was operating at the time of the Sunday crash. O’Connell was removed from the vehicle and Life Flighted to Coeur d’Alene for treatment.
Photos courtesy of IDAHO STATE POLICE A snapshot from dash camera footage showing O’Connell’s car airborne after colliding with the semi-truck.
By CHANSE WATSON
Managing Editor
COEUR d’ALENE — Alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the Sunday afternoon motor vehicle crash that occurred near the top of Fourth of July Pass.
Idaho State Police dash camera footage released later that afternoon appeared to show 40-year-old Summer O’Connell, of Washington state, drive into the left lane on westbound Interstate 90 in an attempt to pass a semi-truck around 2:20 p.m. As she attempted to complete the pass, her vehicle veered into the right lane of travel and clipped the semi.
The 2015 Ford Fusion she was driving proceeded to roll several times before coming to a rest in the left-westbound lane near milepost 28.5.
Emergency crews with ISP, the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office and Shoshone County Fire District No. 2 responded to the incident and upon an inspection of her injuries, it was determined that O’Connell needed immediate medical attention. A Life Flight helicopter was initially dispatched to take her Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene, but it was later canceled and she was taken there by ambulance.
As of July 30, O’Connell is in stable condition, but believed to have lost an arm as a result of injuries sustained. The only other occupant of the car was a dog that did sustain injuries, but is also alive.
No other injuries were reported and the semi-truck hit sustained only minor damage.
ISP Captain John Kempf told the News-Press that the crash is currently being investigated with the belief that O’Connell was under the influence of alcohol. He added that a vehicle/mechanical malfunction is not believed to have played a role.
O’Connell was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the incident and westbound traffic was delayed more than two hours due to lane closures.
At its height, traffic was backed up more than seven miles from the point of the crash.
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To see the ISP dash camera footage of the incident, visit the Shoshone News-Press Facebook page and follow the link to the video.