Employee Cited For Speeding, Causing Wreck

A Boise employee of a company that transports prisoners has been cited following a traffic accident in which its van hit an Interstate 15 pillar and burst into flames.

Muntaga Bah, 34, was fined $5 for not wearing a seatbelt and $58 for driving 79 mph in a 75 mph zone.

According to Idaho State Police reports, the van’s left front tire blew out before it struck the pillar near Shelley, on July 6.

Bah and his wife, 26-year-old Naffie Dean, were transporting 16-year-old Lonnie Robertson from the Juvenile Corrections Center in St. Anthony to her parents in Nampa. Robertson and Dean were pulled from the burning wreckage by truck drivers.

Bah was ejected from the van and suffered facial and head injuries and a fractured leg. Robertson suffered a cracked vertebrae in her back.

Bah was working for Teton Services of Idaho Falls, which contracts with the state to transport prisoners. State Police Cpl. Tony Anderson said speed and the van’s condition were factors in the crash.

The Department of Juvenile Corrections is investigating the accident and has temporarily suspended its contract with Teton Services, agency Director Brent Reinke said.