Snowstorms trigger accidents

The snowstorms that have struck Elmore County during the last week, and which are expected to continue for another week, have triggered scores of slide-offs and accidents on area roads.

Most have not resulted in any injuries, but one man was seriously injured last Friday when he got out to help push the car he had been riding in out of the snow, after it slid to the edge of the road, and was struck by another vehicle.

Idaho State Police said the accident occurred just after 7:30 a.m. Friday, when Benjamin Lopez, 35, of Nampa, was traveling westbound on I-84, driving a white Honda Civic and slid off the road at milepost 78. His two passengers got out of the vehicle to push it back onto the road.

At the same time, Glen Eis, 37, of Mountain Home, was heading westbound on Interstate 84, driving a blue Chevrolet Blazer, which also slid off at the same location, striking the Honda Civic and passenger Corneio Espino-Soltero, 41, of Nampa.

Police scanner reports at the time described Espino-Soltero as having been "smashed" between the two vehicles, suffering "critical injuries." A passing doctor and EMT stopped to help a few minutes later.

Interstate 84 was blocked and traffic was slowed down for just under an hour to allow LifeFlight to land and transport Espino-Soltero from the scene to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.

All parties were wearing their seatbelts and winter weather conditions appear to have been the primary factor in the accident. No charges have been filed at this time.

Authorities are encouraging anyone venturing out on to the roads to drive slowly, as road conditions are extremely slick and dangerous throughout the area, especially during the early morning when any melt from the previous day has been turned into ice overnight.

Sheriff Rick Layher said most of the accidents are simply due to drivers traveling too fast for conditions. In fact, there actually have been a few speeding tickets issued for people driving faster than the posted speed limit, even though road conditions are such that driving 30-40 mph slower than the posted limits are often being advised by authorities.

Layher said that in one 16-hour period Sunday his officers responded to 43 slide-off and accident reports.

He has had a full crew on the roads, supported by as many Idaho State Police as the state can provide, trying to respond to all the accident reports across the county.

In addition to the 60 miles of interstate authorities must patrol, the county sheriff's office is responsible for providing coverage to another 1,000 miles of state and county roads in the county.

"Right now," Layher said, "almost all the roads are packed down with snow and with ice on top of that.

"It's really treacherous out there," he said.

"Out on the interstate, during the day the driver's lane starts to break up and clear, but some people just can't seem to wait behind slower traffic, pull out into the passing lane, which is in worse shape, and then they get into trouble."

The problem is simple, Layher said. "People will just not slow down. If they'd drive according to conditions, they'd be OK. But they're driving along, and everything seems fine, and they let their speed creep up, and then something happens in front of them and they just can't stop in time, so they slide off the road or into someone.

"No matter what, people should drive at a speed where they can stop safely if something happens in front of them."

Road conditions are expected to be poor -- or worse -- for at least the next week as more snowstorms are predicted to hit the area during that time.