- A truck driver narrowly avoided a backhoe that was knocked off the back of a semitruck in Idaho.
- Tabitha Farley captured the incident on her dashcam while transporting portable toilets.
- The Porterville Road Bridge, hit by the semi and backhoe, remains closed for repairs.
BLACKFOOT, Idaho — A truck driver with MVP Rentals in Rigby described the harrowing moments as she watched the semitruck in front of her smash through a bridge Tuesday afternoon.
Tabitha La Fountaine Farley, an employee with MVP Rentals, says she was transporting portable toilets to an event in Fort Hall when she suddenly felt the need to slow down.
"I heard the noise before I saw the dust. Once I saw the dust, I knew that I was having a bridge come down on me," Farley said. "The only thing I could think of was, 'Don't lose the porta-potties!'"
According to a news release from Idaho State Police, a 1986 Peterbilt semitruck hauling two backhoes, driven by a 36-year-old male from New Plymouth, was traveling southbound when it struck the Porterville Road Bridge in Bingham County. The backhoe then fell into the median.
Farley says she drove underneath the bridge right after the first semitruck struck it, and luckily, her dashcam captured the entire incident.
"You can't see it in the footage, but (the backhoe) does a cartwheel above (my truck)," Farley said. "I could see it up in the air before it actually came down in front of the truck."
Two cars behind Farley, a 2013 Volvo semitruck was also hauling two backhoes traveling southbound. It was driven by a 47-year-old male from Las Vegas, Nevada, and it also struck the bridge, according to the news release.
Farley credits the driver of a small pickup truck driving behind her with knowing what to do when two semis crashed into the bridge just seconds apart.
"There was a little pickup behind me, which I'm thankful he knew how to drive, because I had a long trailer behind me," Farley said.
Oddly enough, Farley says she had just watched a video the night before on what to do if a vehicle in front of you crashes on the highway.
"It said to drive as if you were in the snow," Farley said. "Pump your brakes, don't slam on them, because you'll cause an accident behind you."
The damage to Farley's truck was mostly cosmetic, she says, and she credits MVP Rentals for giving her the proper training to drive through anything. Impressively, she also got to the scheduled event on time.
"Just mind what you're doing. Don't be on your phone, don't be looking down. There are so many drivers that I see that are just, on the daily, looking at something other than the road," Farley said. If I wasn't looking at the road, it could have been very bad."
I-15 reopened in the area at about 11 p.m. Tuesday, and the Porterville Road Bridge will be shut down until further notice as the Idaho Transportation Department works to repair it.
