Rash of serious accidents on Highway 33 stuns community

The first accident occurred on the evening of July 8 north of Driggs, near the intersection of 4000 N. The head-on collision between an Acura MDX crossover and a Ford truck and camper trailer resulted in one fatality and two people injured, one seriously, and the other in critical condition.

The driver of the Acura crossed over the center line which caused the wreck. He was a 38-year-old resident of Driggs and was not wearing a seatbelt.

Both occupants of the truck, residents of Gainesville, FL, were wearing seatbelts. One of the occupants of the truck was airlifted by Air Idaho due to the nature of his injuries. The other occupant was released by Teton Valley Health after treatment. Both lanes of the roadway were closed for approximately four hours.

Ten days later on July 18, multiple agencies responded to a call of a two-vehicle crash north of Victor at 7:37 a.m. The accident occurred at the intersection adjacent to Valley Lumber and Rental.

A Dodge pickup truck hauling a trailer and traveling towards Victor suddenly swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid hitting a third vehicle that was stopped to make a left turn into Valley Lumber. The pickup hit the side of a Chevrolet Uplander minivan, causing the Chevrolet to roll and careen off of the roadway.

The driver of the Dodge was wearing a seatbelt. The two occupants of the Chevrolet were not wearing seatbelts and were both ejected from the vehicle.

Personnel responded to reports of multiple patients involved. The driver of the truck remained uninjured and refused on-scene treatment. Both occupants of the minivan were immediately transported to TVH in Driggs.

One was considered in serious condition and the other critical. The critical patient was airlifted from TVH to more definitive care. The critical patient’s outcome is uncertain as of the morning of July 20. The other patient was released from the hospital later that day. Highway 33 was closed for nearly three hours as a result of the accident.

On July 19 the Teton County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a single-vehicle accident at approximately 3:23 p.m., also near 4000 N outside of Driggs. The vehicle left the roadway and struck a telephone pole.

Teton County and Air Idaho also responded, but could not save the occupant as they had already passed away. The Teton County Coroner’s office is currently investigating the fatality. The highway was closed for approximately two hours.

Response and Responsibility

The string of crashes has taken an immeasurable toll not only on the victims, patients, and their families but also on the first responders who provide aid at such a critical time.

Those responders include personnel from Teton County Fire and Rescue, Idaho State Police, Air Idaho, and the Teton County Sheriff’s Office.

Teton County Fire Chief Mike Maltaverne praised his crew stating that “In terms of our protocols and our response, everything was as planned and what we trained for.”

With that said, Maltaverne has noticed a dark cloud lingering over staff and crew at the fire department. Responding crew members debrief after each incident, and their mental health is monitored in the days following their involvement.

“One of the things that we see, just in terms of responders, is that prolonged, continued effect of the mental toll,” said Maltaverne.

“We are all walking around here just shaking our heads,” he continued. “It’s been a rough stretch over the last 10 days.”

Teton County’s top fire and rescue official wants to see the community think critically after such a horrifying turn of events.

“Let’s have a higher-level conversation about the last 10 days and what we’re witnessing with these accidents,” said Maltaverne.

He acknowledged that the community’s first response has been to point fingers at the Idaho Transportation Department’s recent decision to nix multiple turning lanes on Highway 33.

Maltaverne sympathizes with that sentiment but cautioned that it will not immediately solve the problem.

“That is everyone’s initial response and there is a lot of frustration in the community in regard to that conversation. As a resident of the county I feel the same,” he said.

“What can we affect as residents of Teton County and people that drive Highway 33?” he asked. “What I would say is we lose focus on practicing good, safe driving. It is the stuff that is in the book when we all took our driver’s test.”

Maltaverne pointed to defensive driving strategies, keeping a good following distance, strictly obeying posted speed limits, eliminating distracted driving, wearing seatbelts, and exercising patience as ways that drivers can do their part each time they get behind the wheel.

“We always talk about responsibility, and I am responsible for my own actions and certainly my own safety. We just gotta do better as a commuting and driving public right now,” said Maltaverne.

To put into perspective how brutal this streak of serious accidents is, according to ITD data there were four traffic crashes that resulted in fatalities in Teton County from 2018-2020. There have been two in just the last two weeks.

The accidents come at the height of the summer tourism season, with many different types of drivers traveling the highway. Maltaverne cited many different user groups including contractors, residents, out-of-area visitors, commuters, campers, and boaters who all drive the highway differently.

“There are impatient drivers because of that,” said Maltaverne. “There is pressure on the highway right now with all of the different types of drivers, so a little bit of patience will probably go a long way.”

Maltaverne concluded by advising drivers how to behave in the situation they are on the roadway during a response.

“We have to run that same corridor in these big heavy fire trucks, ambulances, and smaller command vehicles. It is a state law, you have to pull to the right and yield to those first responders. Be aware that you are allowing us to get to that scene quicker. A lot of times the scenes that we’re responding to, time is of the essence,” said Maltaverne.

Maltaverne stressed that if you are a driver that happens to see an accident take place, or drive upon one before responders are beginning to arrive, do not hesitate to call 911 and be aware of your own safety if you decide to stop near the scene.

“The first thing I would ask people to do is call 911. Don’t assume that someone else has called it in. If you feel you are one of the first people to witness an accident or drive up on it go ahead and call 911 just to make sure. The dispatcher will be crystal clear, if they already have the call, they will say we already know about it and will hang up on you. You have to make sure that call has been placed, ” said Maltaverne.

Correction 7/27/22: A previous version of this story identified the accident on July 18th as a result of a driver avoiding another vehicle stopped in a left turn lane near Valley Lumber. There is no left turn lane at that location. The vehicle was stopped in the eastbound lane of Highway 33.