Two hospitalized after crash involving lumber truck near Rathdrum

A truck pulling two semitrailers struck another vehicle Monday afternoon near Rathdrum, spilling a load of lumber onto the roadway and sending two people to the hospital.

The Idaho State Police said the crash occurred around 1:10 p.m. on Highway 53 near Atlas Road, east of Rathdrum.

The ISP said Charlene M. Larson, 54, of Rathdrum, was driving south on Atlas in a Dodge pickup truck and failed to yield at a stop sign when she reached the highway.

Roger A. Schroeder, 52, of Kalispell, Montana, was driving the semitruck, which struck Larson’s pickup in the intersection, the ISP said. Schroeder’s rear trailer rolled over, spilling a full load of lumber.

Some of that lumber struck an eastbound Subaru driven by Matthew Diel, 47, of Sandpoint. Diel was not injured.

Larson and Schroeder were transported to Kootenai Health with injuries, the ISP said.

The highway was completely blocked for about an hour. The scene took several hours to clean up.