Idaho Man Dies After Hitting Elk Carcass on Idaho Highway on St. Patrick’s Day

In a series of recent news releases we received from the Idaho State Police, we learned that they responded to two serious rollover accidents on St. Patrick’s Day. Both accidents happened in Eastern Idaho on the same highway near Rexburg.

In one accident, a driver hit an elk, which caused him to lose control of his vehicle. The driver was not wearing a seatbelt and passed away. The second accident involved a driver who drove off the road and rolled his vehicle. He was taken to a local hospital. Full details on each accident can be found below.

Idaho State Police St. Patrick’s Day Report: 2 Rollover Accidents and an Accidental Gun Discharge

In addition to the two highway accidents, ISP also reported a response to an accidental discharge of a firearm inside a trooper vehicle after law enforcement had responded to a report of an armed man near the high school in Mountain Home.

READ ALSO: Accidental Gunshot reported After Police Respond to Incident at Idaho High School

One report from the Idaho State Police on March 17th details a fatal accident on State Highway 33, a few minutes after 7 in the morning. The report doesn’t specify a mile marker on the highway, but the Teton County Sheriff assisted at the scene, so it was most likely to the east of Rexburg near the Wyoming border.

The driver was a 35-year-old male from Rexburg driving eastbound on SH33 in a 2003 Ford F150. He struck the carcass of an elk in the road, lost control of the pickup, and rolled off the right side of the highway.

He was not wearing a seatbelt and passed away.

READ ALSO: Fiery Crash in Southern Idaho Injures 3 People and Kills 1 Dog

In the second holiday accident, the ISP reports that the rollover crash occurred on the same highway, SH33, at mile marker 32, at approximately 11:20 that morning. The driver was the only occupant in the vehicle and was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. He was taken to the hospital by ground ambulance.

The driver was a 43-year-old male from Menan. ISP believe he drove off the east side of the highway and rolled the vehicle, a 1995 Buick LeSabre.

Both accidents are being investigated by the Idaho State Police.