Why did YMCA camp bus crash on Idaho 55? Idaho State Police releases cause
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Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman
BANKS (Idaho Statesman) — Nearly a month after a school bus carrying nearly 30 people crashed on Idaho 55 near Banks, investigators determined the bus veered off the roadway, overcorrected and rolled over.
The Treasure Valley YMCA summer camp bus was one of four heading back to Boise on Aug. 4 from the YMCA Camp at Horsethief Reservoir. The driver, a 64-year-old Caldwell woman, sustained injuries, according to a Friday news release from Idaho State Police. Eight passengers sustained “serious injuries,” ISP said, but no details were provided.
The driver isn’t employed by the YMCA, Idaho YMCA President and CEO David Duro previously told the Idaho Statesman.
This is the first confirmation that no other vehicles were directly involved in the collision. There was another crash involving multiple vehicles that occurred “substantially behind the bus” after drivers tried to brake where traffic had backed up, Idaho State Police spokesperson Aaron Snell told the Statesman previously, but no one was seriously injured.
A total of 28 people — which included campers ages 13 to 18 along with camp counselors and the bus driver — were on the bus, according to the news release.
The other three camp buses were not involved in the crash, though one of the buses was behind the bus that crashed causing it to be delayed, Duro previously told the Statesman.
The Boise County Prosecuting Office is expected to review the case now that state police have concluded their investigation, according to the news release.
The crash, which occurred near milepost 84, shut down a portion of the road for nearly four hours. Nearly two dozen passengers were sent to various Treasure Valley hospitals, including Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center and St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center, following the crash. Several patients were quickly discharged after they were checked out by medical staff, according to prior Statesman reporting.
The remaining patients had been discharged less than a week after the collision. “This was a tragic ending to what was otherwise a great week-long summer camp,” Duro previously told the Statesman.