3 people dead, 1 person hospitalized in 2 separate crashes
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IDAHO FALLS – A Gooding couple died in a car crash north of Oakley Saturday afternoon after colliding with another vehicle.
The crash occurred around 4:10.
A news release from Idaho State Police indicates 72-year-old Lawrence Steel and his wife, 69-year-old Nadine, were driving southbound on State Highway 27 in a 2008 Chevrolet Uplander.
They collided head-on with 37-year-old Cassia County Deputy Kenny Emery, who was driving northbound in a 2017 Ram 250 patrol vehicle. He was on-duty at the time.
The Steels’ died instantly, but Emery was taken by ambulance to Cassia Regional Hospital in Burley. A life flight helicopter then took him to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello.
Emery’s condition is unknown.
The highway was blocked for about four hours as ISP worked to clean up the wreckage. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
About an hour later, a Las Vegas man died in a crash near Lava Hot Springs.
The crash occurred at 5:30 p.m.
ISP reports 53-year-old Norman Nix was driving a Yamaha dirt bike near the intersection of Little Buffalo Road and Lynx Road south of Lava Hot Springs.
Nix veered off the road and drove off the left shoulder before he went airborne and crashed.
He was not wearing a helmet and died on impact.
His family has been notified.
ISP is still working to determine a cause.