2 dead after car crash in Boise. 2 other fatal crashes reported in Ada and near Emmett
First responders around the Treasure Valley responded to three fatal car crashes Thursday that took place over the span of a few hours.
Most recently, two teenagers were killed in a car crash that occurred Thursday night in Boise. The crash occurred just hours after another fatal crash took place in Ada County, and an earlier crash in Emmett killed a Star man the same day.
Police were dispatched to the intersection of McMillan and Five Mile roads at around 10:30 p.m. and found that two cars had collided. Investigators believe that a car driving south on Five Mile Road hit a car going west on McMillan Road.
The driver of the car on Five Mile Road died due to the crash, as well as a passenger in the car on McMillan Road, according to a news release from the Boise Police Department. Two passengers in the car on McMillan were taken to local hospitals for treatment. The news release did not elaborate on the injuries caused by the crash.
The Ada County Coroner’s Office on Friday afternoon identified the two teens who died as Devyn Pifher, 19, who was the sole occupant of his car, and Ava Sawyer, 15, a passenger in the car on McMillan.
Boise police detectives and a crash reconstruction team were sent to the scene to investigate, and as of Friday morning the matter is still under investigation.
The Boise crash took place shortly after a different fatal car crash occurred elsewhere in Ada County.
According to a series of tweets from the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, a head-on crash involving two cars happened around 6 p.m. Thursday evening on Cartwright Road between Hidden Springs and Pierce Park roads in northern Ada.
Police said one driver was pronounced dead at the scene, and two other people were taken to a local hospital. The force of the crash was “significant,” according to police.
Investigators believe a car was driving west when the vehicle veered into the eastbound lanes and struck an oncoming car. One car caught fire on the side of the road. First responders had to remove two people from the wreckage before they were sent to the hospital.
Those dead in the Boise and Ada crashes have yet to be identified by the Ada County Coroner’s Office.
Hours before, another fatal crash took place near Emmett.
Around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, police were dispatched to the scene of a crash on State Highway 16 near milepost 111 just south of Emmett, according to a news release from the Idaho State Police.
Police later learned that a man driving a SUV was driving south when he tried to pass a semi-truck on the truck’s passenger side using a “slow moving turnout lane,” according to the news release. The SUV hit the semi-truck and rolled before landing in both the northbound and southbound lanes of the highway.
The driver of the SUV was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. Police have identified him as 61-year-old Star resident Ronald Burlile.
A child, who was wearing a seatbelt, was also inside the SUV at the time of the crash. The child was flown via air ambulance to Boise’s Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center for treatment. The extent of his injuries or the child’s condition in the hospital was not included in the ISP news release.
The driver of the semi-truck was wearing a seatbelt during the crash, and he was not taken to a hospital.
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 8:25 AM.
