Pickup Plunges Into Creek, Killing Driver
A Sandpoint housekeeper died Saturday night when her pickup truck slid off a curve at high speed and plunged into a creek, the Idaho State Police reported.
Darlene M. McCormick, 34, was about halfway between Sandpoint and Laclede on U.S. 2 around 7:30 p.m., the ISP said.
She was westbound, returning home after cleaning a Hoodoo Valley house, when she lost control of her 1985 Nissan pickup.
The recommended top speed at the curve is 45 mph, the ISP said. Investigators believe McCormick was traveling about 70 mph.
The pickup vaulted a guardrail, hit a tree and landed on its passenger side in Smith Creek.
McCormick, who authorities said was not wearing a seat belt, was pinned under three feet of water. An off-duty Sandpoint police officer, two Bonner County sheriff’s deputies and a local resident tried to save the woman by rolling the truck over and pulling out her body.
Alcohol was not suspected in the crash.
McCormick leaves behind one son, three stepchildren and a husband, Cory McCormick. Born in Reno, she lived most of her life in Sandpoint. She enjoyed horseback riding and cross-country skiing.
“She was the kind of person that cared about everybody,” said her son, 14-year-old Jason McCormick.
, DataTimes