Explosives on truck that ran off road near Coeur d’Alene bombs, not missiles, ISP clarifies

The 32,000 pounds of explosives on the back of a truck headed east that crashed Friday evening near the Idaho state border did not pose a risk of igniting when the highway was closed, the Idaho State Police said Monday.

The single-truck crash closed four miles of Interstate 90 after 7 p.m. Friday for nearly three hours. The ISP reported Saturday that the truck’s cargo were missiles, but clarified Monday that the devices were more specifically described as “bombs” because they did not contain fuses.

“We would have responded the same whether they were bombs or missiles,” said ISP Capt. John Kempf.

The ISP reported the truck’s driver, 56-year-old Leiloni Dearanger, was uninjured after his truck drove in a snow bank at the Huetter rest area. A team of ordnance specialists from Fairchild Air Force Base assisted with the investigation.

Kempf said the load originated in Washington and was headed to Indiana.

Dearanger was cited for inattentive driving and allowed to continue driving, said Kempf.

“These types of loads are not that uncommon,” he said.