On Saturday, June 16, 2018, about 11:32 p.m., local time, a multivehicle collision occurred involving a 2019 Volvo truck-tractor in combination with a 2015 Great Dane refrigerated semitrailer, operated by Krujex Freight Transport Corporation (Krujex), which was traveling east on Interstate 84 (I-84), near Boise, Idaho. The truck, occupied by a 42-year-old driver, had departed Yakima, Washington, and was en route to Methuen, Massachusetts, on a multiday trip.
Work zone lane closures began on eastbound I-84 ahead of the initial crash location, resulting in a traffic queue. The traffic queue extended from the beginning of the work zone back over a mile into the advance warning area for the zone, with most of the traffic in the queue either stopped or traveling at a slow speed. The driver of the 2019 Volvo combination vehicle, traveling in the third lane from the left (lane 3) did not apply brakes or otherwise respond to the traffic queue ahead. His vehicle collided with the rear of a slow-moving 2008 Jeep Wrangler at milepost (MP) 47.007, near the Cloverdale Road overpass, at an estimated speed of 62 mph.
After being struck by the 2019 Volvo truck, the Jeep was pushed forward so that it underrode the trailer of a 2003 Volvo truck-tractor in combination with a 2008 Great Dane refrigerated semitrailer in the same lane. The 2003 Volvo combination vehicle moved forward and collided with the rear of a 2006 Ford Fusion, pushing it into the rear of a 2014 Ford F-150 and sideswiping a 2015 Ford Escape. Debris from the collision also damaged a 2010 Ford Focus. A postcrash fire ensued that consumed the Jeep, most of the 2003 Volvo combination vehicle’s semitrailer, and a portion of the 2019 Volvo truck’s cab and semitrailer, as well as severely damaging the Cloverdale Road overpass.
The Jeep was occupied by a 23-year-old male driver and two passengers. The three occupants of the Jeep died as a result of the collision and postcrash fire. The driver of the 2019 Volvo truck died as a result of the postcrash fire. The drivers of the 2003 Volvo truck, Ford F-150, Ford Escape, and Ford Focus received minor injuries. At the time of the crash, it was dark (nighttime) with clear weather and a dry road surface.
We determined that the probable cause of the Boise, Idaho, crash was the Krujex Freight Transport Corporation driver’s failure to respond to the slow-moving traffic queue ahead, most likely due to performance decrements associated with fatigue. Contributing to the crash were the (1) inadequate traffic control and queue management procedures employed by Penhall Company and its subcontractor Specialty Construction Supply Company, Inc., and (2) lack of proper oversight by the Idaho Transportation Department, which allowed an additional lane closure that was not part of the approved traffic control plan, resulting in a traffic queue that extended into the advance warning area of the work zone.
