YMCA summer camp bus rolls over on Idaho highway; 11 passengers injured

BANKS (Idaho Statesman) — A school bus carrying about 30 passengers rolled over on the Idaho 55 highway north of Banks on Friday afternoon, injuring 11 passengers — including seven critically — and shutting down a section of the road for nearly 4 hours, according to a news release from Idaho State Police.

Troopers responded to the accident near milepost 84 at around 3 p.m., according to ISP. The Treasure Valley YMCA summer camp bus had been carrying people from 13 to 18 years old, and all children were transported by air or ground ambulance to local hospitals, the news release said.

Idaho 55 was reopened from milepost 79 to 97, Banks to Smiths Ferry, around 6:45 p.m., according to ITD. The bus was one of four summer camp buses, and all other buses were not involved in the crash, state police said.

YMCA and law enforcement officials are continuing to notify the family. State police spokesperson Aaron Snell told the Statesman that the bus was heading back to Boise from the YMCA Camp at Horsethief Reservoir, which is about 10 miles from Cascade.

“This was a tragic ending to what was otherwise a great week-long summer camp,” Idaho YMCA President and CEO David Duro told the Idaho Statesman by phone. Duro said there were also several adults on the bus, including camp counselors and the bus driver, who isn’t employed by the YMCA.

There was another bus behind the bus that crashed, Duro said, causing it to be delayed getting back to Boise, but those children have since been reunited with their families. He added the YMCA plans to offer the families any resources they might need and that staff members were visiting the hospitals.

“All these participants are really part of the YMCA family, and so, it’s personal to us,” Duro said.

Saint Alphonsus Health System spokesperson Mark Snider told the Statesman by phone its Boise-based regional hospital has admitted seven underage patients, all of whom were not in critical condition. He added that the Saint Al’s Eagle and Nampa hospitals were on stand-by to receive patients. St. Luke’s doctors also received notice of a “mass casualty” incident shortly after 4:30 p.m., requesting as many providers as possible to Boise and Meridian emergency departments, texts obtained by the Statesman showed.

All victims from the bus crash arrived to local hospitals by 6:21 p.m., according to the texts. St. Luke’s spokesperson Taylor Reeves Marschner told the Statesman by email that the health system had “multiple patients” at their hospitals in Boise and Meridian and they were working to reunite families.

It’s unknown whether another vehicle was involved in the crash.

Several agencies, including the Eagle and Gem County fire departments, along with the Boise County Sheriff’s and Ada County Sheriff’s offices and rescue apparatuses, were on scene. Spokesperson Angie Heuring said ITD didn’t yet have any information about what caused the crash.

Statesman staff members Hayat Norimine, Daniel Ramirez and Noble Brigham contributed.