BONNEVILLE COUNTY, ID — Two people were taken to the hospital Monday after a trailer carrying a Razor came off a pickup on U.S. Highway 26 and was hit by a motorhome near Swan Valley. Idaho State Police said the crash happened around 11:15 a.m. and left the westbound lanes blocked while crews investigated.
The detached trailer came to rest in the westbound lanes after separating from the pickup. A motorhome traveling the opposite direction then struck it, setting off a crash that involved multiple vehicles and left passengers needing ambulance transport.
Police identify the pickup, motorhome and drivers involved
Idaho State Police said a 51-year-old Idaho Falls man was driving west in a 2016 Ford F-350. He was towing a camp trailer and another trailer that was carrying the Razor when the second trailer broke free.
The motorhome was driven by a 79-year-old man from Crestview, Florida, who was heading east in a 2020 Winnebago motor home. Police said the Winnebago was towing a Jeep at the time of the collision. Investigators have not said what caused the trailer to detach.
Passengers in the motorhome were taken to a local hospital
The driver and a passenger in the motorhome were both transported by ambulance to a local hospital after the crash. Their conditions were not released.
Idaho State Police did not say whether anyone in the pickup was injured. The agency did say that everyone involved in the crash was wearing a seat belt, a detail that likely reduced the risk of more serious harm.
Westbound Highway 26 stayed blocked during the investigation
Crews kept the westbound lanes of Highway 26 closed while the crash was being examined. That made the scene a traffic problem as well as a recovery effort, since the detached trailer was sitting in the roadway where the collision happened.
Highway 26 is a key route through the Swan Valley area, so a closure there can slow traffic in both directions and force drivers to find alternate routes. Police had not announced when the lanes would reopen.
A chain reaction crash that started with a detached trailer
What happened near Swan Valley was not a high-speed pileup, but a split-second roadway hazard that turned into an ambulance run. A trailer pulling away from a pickup can leave drivers with little time to react, especially on a highway where vehicles are moving in opposite directions.
In this case, the detached trailer carrying the Razor ended up in the westbound lanes before the eastbound motorhome struck it. The crash shows how quickly a towing problem can spread beyond one vehicle and involve others traveling legally in their own lanes.
What officials have released so far about the investigation
Idaho State Police released the basic facts of the collision, including the time, the vehicles involved and the hospital transports. The agency has not publicly said whether mechanical failure, hitch trouble or some other issue caused the trailer to separate from the pickup.
For now, the main confirmed facts are that two people were hospitalized, both drivers were wearing seat belts, and the westbound lanes remained shut down during the investigation. More details may come later as police continue sorting out how the trailer broke loose.
Local news that matters, from Dulaney Griffin.
