Wife of man who died in crash says he was honorable, hardworking and amazing

BANCROFT — A husband, father, son and friend is being remembered as honorable and hardworking after he lost his life in a recent crash.

Timothy “Tim” Swanson, 48, from Bancroft impacted the lives around him.

“He was amazing. He was the most honorable man — honorable person — I have ever met. He was always putting people ahead of himself and helping them with their goals,” said Anna Swanson, Tim’s wife.

Anna and Tim have been married for four years and have been together for over 10 years.

The crash

Tim was on his way home from work on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Anna and Tim normally drive together and he drops Anna off at her job at Portneuf Medical Center, but on this day, she was off and waiting for him at home.

Tim was just about 10 minutes away from their house. Anna was going to make dinner when she saw flashing red and blue lights go by from her living room.

“I immediately texted him asking him if he was okay and when I didn’t get a response back, I knew instantly that it was him,” Anna said. “It was just one of those gut feelings.”

RELATED | Names released of those involved in fatal crash on US 30 near Lava Hot Springs

The crash happened at 6:30 p.m. at milepost 377.5, east of Lava Hot Springs, according to Idaho State police. It’s located on the Caribou County side of Fish Creek Pass.

Tim was driving eastbound on U.S. Highway 30 in a 2015 Toyota 4Runner.

Kiara Cooper, 24, from Kingwood, Texas, and her passenger — Britnay Campbell-Martin, 25, from Texas City, Texas — were traveling westbound in a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu, police said.

Cooper crossed into the eastbound lanes, where a head-on collision happened. Swanson’s vehicle went airborne, then rolled down the shoulder where it caught fire, according to Idaho State Police.

Swanson and Cooper were both pronounced dead at the scene. Campbell-Martin was flown by air ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center. EastIdahoNews.com has been told she is still there. We have reached out to the hospital for her latest condition but have not heard back.

The GoFundMe

“I am still numb,” Anna said, crying. “It still feels like (Tim) is going to walk through the door with that big old grin on his face and be there to comfort me … but I know with all the evidence — I have his remains, I went and saw his body, I went and saw the car, I have been to the accident site — it just still doesn’t feel real.”

Knowing how she is feeling, Anna knows that must be exactly how the other families involved in the crash are feeling, too. There is a GoFundMe set up online for Anna, to help with funeral expenses and the loss of her husband.

Attached to the GoFundMe, is also Cooper’s. Click here.

“We all lost somebody. It’s not just me and my family and my friends. I want to try and support them,” Anna said. “This affects not only the three people in the car, but so many people in Idaho and in Texas.”

Anna is grateful for the support she has received on the GoFundMe. There has been $13,945 raised out of $15,000 as of Friday afternoon.

“I knew Tim impacted and had a lot of relationships with people, but it blows my mind of how many people he impacted … like, people I have never even met are contacting me and telling me stories and it’s a blessing,” she said.

Remembering Tim Swanson

Anna and Tim don’t have children together, but she shared that Tim has an amazing daughter who is 27 years old and lives in Oregon. Anna says he has supported his daughter so much.

“At one point, he had three to four part-time jobs, just so he could keep a roof over his daughter’s head and he would go days without eating actual meals just so he could save the food for his daughter,” Anna said. “He was just an unbelievably hard worker.”

Tim made jokes and made connections with people around him easily.

“He was just so personable. Before you knew it, you were best friends with him, even if you only met him for 20 minutes!” Anna said.

She shared with EastIdahoNews.com that Tim was a small-town guy, while Anna was a city girl. He taught her how to hunt and be self-sufficient.

Anna, on the other hand, sparked an interest in Tim to travel.

“For his 40th birthday, I took him on a cruise. We saved up a couple of years, and we went to Mexico, Honduras and Grand Cayman. That was the first time he really traveled. Very eye-opening!” she recalls of the experience.

The two had been inseparable and did everything together. She lives at their dream house and property. It’s the couple’s forever home.

“Now I have to try to live that for him,” she said.

As she reflects on her husband and the man he was, she also thinks about everyone else involved.

“My heart just goes out to them because I know how hard I am hurting,” she said. “We are in this together.”