UPDATE: Idaho Falls man dies following crash near Palisades
Published at | Updated at
PALISADES – A 19-year-old man from Idaho Falls is dead after driving off a cliff near Palisades Reservoir Sunday morning.
Bryan Lovell with the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office tells EastIdahoNews.com the crash occurred about 11:30 a.m. on Coyote Hollow Drive and Bear Creek Road between Calamity and Bear Creek Trail.
“The family was traveling together in a convoy (during a camping trip). The guy who crashed was in the back of the line,” Lovell says.
When he didn’t arrive at camp, family members went back to look for him and called 911 when they saw the crash.
The call came in at 12:02 p.m.
The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, but family members say speed was not a factor, as previously reported.
“He was heading out towards Calamity Trail. He made it about a mile and a half and came around the corner (before) his front tires went off (the side of a cliff). He rolled two or three times and hit a tree,” according to a family member.
Previously, someone claiming to be a witness told us that the driver went around the corner “way too fast” and swerved off the cliff to avoid a wreck. Law enforcement tells us that information is not correct.
Lovell says the victim was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the vehicle after hitting the tree. No one else was involved.
The family declined to release the driver’s name.
Traffic in the vicinity of the crash may be slow for the next several hours as crews investigate.
Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office is conducting the investigation. Swan Valley Fire Department, Idaho Falls Fire Department, Idaho State Police, the U.S. Forest Service and Air Idaho were also involved in the response.
ORIGINAL STORY:
PALISADES – The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a vehicle crash near Palisades.
The initial traffic log indicates the crash occurred around noon on Coyote Hollow Drive and Bear Creek Road.
A witness tells EastIdahoNews.com someone drove off a cliff after turning a corner.
“A guy with a truck and utility trailer was doing about 40 towards the trailhead and almost ran a couple of my friends off the cliff, and went around a corner way too fast. The other vehicle swerved off the cliff to avoid a wreck,” he says.
At least one person is dead as a result of the crash, Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Bryan Lovell says.
Traffic is reportedly backed up in the area.
We are awaiting further information and will update this story when it is available.