‘Terrible waiting game’: Boise musician battling for her life following car crash near Ammon

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — A Boise woman and Treefort Music Fest artist is hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury after a rollover crash outside of Idaho Falls this week. Her family said she is still unconscious.

On Monday evening, Emilee Gomske, 29, was a passenger in a 2001 Volkswagen Golf GTI in Ammon when the driver veered off the right side of the road, leading the car to violently careen into an irrigation system and flip into a field near East Sunnyside and Crowley roads, according to the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office.

In dashcam footage obtained by EastIdahoNews.com, the Volkswagen is seen speeding past another vehicle in a blur, nearly hitting the car whose dashcam was on. The Volkswagen hits an embankment and eventually lands in the field after flying through the air.

RELATED | Dashcam footage shows harrowing rollover crash that hospitalized one

Gomske sustained severe injuries from the crash and was taken to an Idaho Falls hospital. The driver was checked on by emergency medical services but was not taken to a hospital.

Emilee Gomske’s sister, Kaylee Gomske, told the Idaho Statesman in a phone interview that she is waiting at the Idaho Falls hospital for her sister, who is in the ICU, to regain consciousness.

Emilee Gomske also suffered a fractured skull, two brain bleeds and a broken nose, her sister said.

Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Bryan Lovell told the Statesman in an email that no charges have been filed related to the crash, but an investigation is ongoing. Deputies determined speed was a factor and are waiting for blood test results as part of their investigation, he said.

Her sister ‘just wants to hear her voice again’

Kaylee Gomske said the family is trying to grasp what happened. She said they don’t have much information, but found out Emilee was unresponsive when authorities got to the scene. Kaylee said her sister had been in Idaho Falls visiting family.

She told the Statesman that Emilee’s future is uncertain because of the injuries, but the family remains hopeful. She said her sister has shown “good signs” but has a long recovery ahead.

Kaylee Gomske called being at the hospital a “terrible waiting game” and said she “just wants to hear her voice again.”

Emilee Gomske is a previous Treefort Music Fest artist and was scheduled to play again this year on March 29 at Pengilly’s Saloon as part of the popular five-day festival. She describes herself as a “Space Folk-Dreamy-Country girl-Jazz artist.” Her sister described Emilee as a “beautiful songwriter and a very talented artist.”

Kaylee said Emilee “really made a name for herself” in the Boise music scene, and the community has shown an outpouring of support for her.

“It’s just been so heartwarming to know that her community in Boise, like all of our family, all of her friends, even our siblings, friends, are reaching out,” Kaylee Gomske said. “It’s very comforting to know that we have a village to take care of her.”

A close friend of the family set up a GoFundMe to help raise money for the cost of medical care for Emilee Gomske, who doesn’t have health insurance. The online fundraiser had taken in nearly $17,000 of a $50,000 goal by Thursday morning.

“Emilee is the kind of person who lights up every room she walks into,” the organizer wrote on the GoFundMe page. “She’s always the one making people laugh, singing along to every song, and showing up wholeheartedly for the people she loves. She’s the best friend, aunt, daughter, and sister anyone could ever have. Now she needs us to show up for her.”