Truck crashes near Swan Valley Bridge
Boxes of hamburger patties were floating down the Snake River on Thursday after a semi-truck crashed.
Bruce Fitzgerald, 58, of Shelley, was traveling east on U.S. 26 in a 2007 Freightliner with a 2011 Great Dane trailer.
He failed to negotiate a turn causing the semi to go off the road, Idaho State Police said. The trailer separated from the tractor and rolled down the river embankment into the water.
The remains of the trailer were in the Snake River and the truck on its side nearby on Highway 26 near the Swan Valley Bridge between Snake River Road and Traughber Road.
The Department of Enivornmental Quality crews will dispose of the 50-gallon diesel tank. It is unknown if it is leaking. The trailer is still submerged in the river and the recovery has been delayed till Friday when more crews are available to safely remove it.
Both lanes were closed for 35 minutes to an hour, after which one lane was open for both directions of traffic. The road was reopened after several hours. Drivers can expect some road blockage again on Friday as crews restart efforts to remove the trailer.
Fitzgerald was wearing a seat belt and taken to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.
