Teen Hurt In Fall From Truck Bed

A Smelterville teenager was listed in critical condition Friday after falling out of the bed of a moving truck.

Shoshone County sheriff’s deputies said the truck was traveling about 35 mph when 18-year-old John Garner III tumbled out. He was taken to Shoshone Medical Center and later was flown to Kootenai Medical Center with severe head and facial injuries.

Alcohol may have been a factor in the accident, but the driver did not appear drunk, said Capt. Spike Angle. He identified the driver of the 1989 Ford truck as Jack A. Best of Wallace.

The accident happened late Thursday along Silver Valley Road near Smelterville. Garner was helping a family move to Smelterville when he fell out, Angle said.

Garner was being treated Friday in the intensive care unit at Kootenai Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said.