SCSO responds to multiple crashes in 24 hour period
WALLACE – Between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office responded to four separate vehicle crashes, two of which had injuries and two that did not.
The first was on June 24 when at approximately 2 p.m., SCSO received a 911 call referencing a UTV crash on Big Creek Road. In actuality, the crash site was approximately 10 miles south of Sunshine Mine Road.
Once on scene, emergency crews found that the UTV had left the roadway and traveled approximately 100 yards down the hillside until it crashed into a tree and came to rest. The occupants of the UTV, Michael G. Gardner and Corby D. Gardner, both of Kellogg, sustained injuries during the crash and were both transported to Shoshone Medical Center and later to Kootenai Medical Center.
The UTV occupied by the Gardner’s failed to negotiate a switch back in the roadway, causing the UTV to sluff off the side of roadway.
Due to the thick terrain, step hillside and distance back to roadway, assistance from both Shoshone County Fire Districts 1 and 2 were utilized along with members from the community to help get the Gardner’s transported to medical care.
30 minutes after the report of the first crash, SCSO received another 911 call on June 24 referencing a single motorcycle crash near mile post 48 on St. Joe River Road.
Upon arrival to the scene, it was determined that the rider, Jon T. Bison of Avery, had lost control of his motorcycle and failed to negotiate a corner. Bison and the bike came to a rest after the two struck the nearby hillside.
Bison was treated on scene and transported to Benewah Community Hospital by Benewah EMS.
The report of the third crash came in on June 25 at approximately 2:20 a.m. The reporting party stated that there was a single vehicle rollover accident on the Northside Road outside of Calder.
Once responding deputies were on scene, they found that Eric Dittman of Calder was traveling to a work site when left the roadway in his vehicle and rolled down the embankment. Dittman was uninjured though and walked to a residence to telephone for assistance.
The fourth and most recent crash was reported late Monday morning and stated that there was a single vehicle vs. motorcycle crash in Kingston. This incident also turned out to be non-injury, however was still being investigated and no other details were available.
Captain Jeremy Groves and the rest of the Sheriff’s Office would like to stress that with warm weather upon us, everyone should take heed of a few safe recreating tips:
•While in the mountains riding on any type of off road vehicle– please wear all safety equipment, use slower safe speeds, pay attention to roadways. In these higher elevations, the snow just recently melted and has left roadways soft in places, especially along edges.
•Be watchful for others, as more and more people will be out enjoying the same things as you.
•The most recent Monday morning crash is a great reminder to be cautions for street motorcycles being out due to the nice weather. Making sure you check all directions of travel more than once before entering a roadway is incredibly important this time of year, especially since people on street bikes do not stand out as easily as standard vehicles do.
Groves would also like to thank anyone who showed up to assist medical and law enforcement personal in Big Creek Sunday afternoon.
“Your help was very much appreciated. This area we all recreate and live in is a great place and anytime something like this comes up we get reminded of how outgoing and generous people can be in this area, so thank you again.”