Explosives Truck Jackknifes On I-90

A truck loaded with 33 cases of explosives jackknifed Monday on Interstate 90, blocking westbound traffic for more than an hour.

It was snowing at 5:25 p.m. when the accident occurred.

The truck driver, Susan K. Gates, 46, of Levan, Utah, said she hit her brakes just east of Kellogg when she saw other drivers slowing for a vehicle that had slid off the road.

“I started to slide and tried to control it. I didn’t succeed,” she said.

When Gates lost control of her semi and two trailers, a van behind her slowed, causing a pileup involving the two cars behind it, said Idaho State Police trooper Chris Schenck.

One driver, Fay Loewen, 69, of Silverton, complained of back pain. The others appeared to be unharmed.

Shoshone County sheriff’s deputies routed traffic off westbound I-90 at Exit 54, about three miles east of Kellogg. The detour, in place until shortly after 7 p.m., stalled traffic as far away as Osburn while officials at the wreck assessed the danger and summoned a tow truck.

Dale Costa, chief of Shoshone Fire District 2, said the explosives appeared to be stored properly in separate containers. They were bound for companies in Rathdrum, Idaho, and Chehalis, Wash., to be used to service mines and for avalanche control.

There was no damage to the cargo. The trailer and the driver’s side of the tractor box sustained minimal damage, officers said. The truck was towed out of the way just before 7 p.m.

Gates, who works for Dyno Transportation of Illinois with her husband Don, said she has been hauling explosives for six years.

, DataTimes MEMO: Cut in the Spokane edition.