BLACKFOOT — Authorities have released the names of the two people killed in Sunday’s two-vehicle crash on Interstate 15 near Blackfoot.
Destiny J. Thain, 38, of Rexburg, and Naomi Hernandez, 18, of Meridian, died at the scene of the crash on Interstate 15 southbound just north of Blackfoot when a 2009 Toyota RAV4 compact SUV collided head-on with a 2001 Lincoln Navigator SUV around 5 p.m. Sunday, the Bingham County Coroner’s Office reported.
Thain was a passenger in the Lincoln and Hernandez was a passenger in the Toyota, authorities said.
A GoFundMe online fundraiser has been started to help pay for Hernandez’s funeral expenses. Donations can be made at https://gofund.me/814e090a.
Naomi Hernandez
GoFundMe Photo
The drivers of both vehicles were injured in the collision, which occurred when the Lincoln was heading northbound on Interstate 15, crossed through the median and struck the southbound Toyota, Idaho State Police said.
State police said they’re still trying to determine why the northbound driver of the Lincoln, a 41-year-old man from Chester, crossed over into the southbound traffic. The Toyota was driven by a 19-year-old female from Caldwell.
The names and conditions of both injured individuals have not been released. They were the only other occupants of their respective vehicles. Authorities said both suffered serious injuries in the crash.
One of the injured individuals was transported via ground ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, while the other was transported by ground ambulance to Bingham Memorial Hospital in Blackfoot before being airlifted via emergency helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, state police said.
The occupants of the Lincoln were not wearing seat belts while the driver of the Toyota was wearing a seat belt, state police said.
The crash shut down Interstate 15 southbound north of Blackfoot for three hours.
“This accident remains under investigation and we ask that everyone with ties to our community to keep the families of these young women in your thoughts and prayers,” the Bingham County Coroner’s Office stated in a news release.
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