Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
IDAHO FALLS — The story was startling and concerning. A young man without ID appeared to be hit by a car in Idaho Falls and left unconscious. He's taken to a local hospital and nobody knows who he is, the story goes.
A photo of the man appears to show him in a hospital bed with his eyes closed and in another picture, someone on the ground is seen surrounded by EMTs in an unidentifiable city.
"Please help! This young man hit by a car (a) few hours ago here in Idaho Falls," a Facebook post says. "Please help bump this post so that his friends or family may find him."
The post was shared hundreds of times on social media Monday evening. Several people messaged EastIdahoNews reporters asking for a report on the situation.
We did some checking and the first thing Idaho Falls Fire Department spokeswoman Kerry Hammon told us is the uniforms in the pictures are not those worn by Idaho Falls firefighters or EMTs.
Hammon went on to say there have been no reports of any pedestrians hit by cars on Monday.
Idaho Falls Police Department spokeswoman Jessica Clements noticed several "red flags" about the post and tells EastIdahoNews these types of internet scams have become more common lately.
We blurred the face of the young man in the photo along with the picture of the woman who posted it in one local Facebook group because the photos likely belong to someone else. We sent a Facebook message to the original person who shared it asking where she received her information but so far EastIdahoNews has not received a response.
Why someone would make up a story like this is anyone's guess but Clements reminds everyone to seek and share information from reliable sources such as the fire department, police department and reputable news outlets.
