Semi spills load, shuts I-90

A load of boards rocketed off a semitruck Tuesday along Interstate 90 near Coeur d’Alene, smashing two cars head-on, seriously injuring an Eastern Washington couple and delaying traffic for several hours.

The truck driver, 42-year-old Randy A. Coffer of Charleston, Mo., was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated and possession of an open container of alcohol, the Idaho State Police reported Tuesday evening.

The westbound truck skidded out of control while coming downhill into Coeur d’Alene, near where I-90 crosses over Mullan Trail Road. It flipped onto its side, launching 47,000 pounds of Trex composite decking boards into eastbound traffic.

Boards also were scattered across the westbound lanes as the 1998 Freightliner skidded to a stop in a ditch.

In all, four other vehicles were involved in the accident, and four people were taken to Kootenai Medical Center, where Ray and Laura Malcolm of College Place, Wash., remained Tuesday night. Hospital staff said Ray Malcolm, 80, was listed in serious condition and Laura Malcolm, 77, was in fair condition.

The interstate was reopened several hours after the accident, though cleanup continued.

Idaho State Police Lt. Curtis Exley pointed to marks in the pavement that showed where Coffer’s truck tipped, propelling the load of Trex into traffic.

“It shot them straight over the meridian and took those cars head-on,” he added as Coeur d’Alene firefighters worked to cut Garda Cuthbert out of a maroon Mazda Tribute that had smashed into the concrete railing that protects drivers from going off the road above the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course.

Cuthbert, 63, of Osburn, Idaho, was released Tuesday from Kootenai Medical Center, as was John Cuthbert, 63.

Coffer was uninjured, the ISP reported. Also escaping without injuries was 47-year-old Billy Welch of St. Maries, whose Peterbilt truck was among the four vehicles hit by the decking material.

The Malcolms’ champagne-colored Cadillac was hit directly by the boards. It sat with a smashed windshield among the debris waiting for a tow truck. A plastic bag full of Christmas presents, wrapped in green with silver ribbon, was next to the car, along with a black suitcase.

A small black dog was turned over to animal rescue workers.

The curvy stretch of road is a familiar place for wrecks, especially those involving trucks hauling loads. In July, traffic was stopped for four hours in 90-degree heat after a cattle truck flipped and caught fire.

In April, about 2,200 gallons of used cooking oil spilled when a truck overturned, covering about a quarter-mile of road with a layer of oil up to 4 inches deep.

In 1995, thousands of gallons of hot tar oozed onto the freeway in the same area after a truck toppled.

“There are a lot of trucks that come around that corner every day and that’s why we have the median barriers and the (reduced) speed,” Exley said.

“I see accidents here all the time,” said Kathy Grothman of Coeur d’Alene who waited for more than two hours Tuesday for traffic to clear – snacking on freshly purchased Thanksgiving bread to combat her growling lunchtime stomach.

“Truckers need to slow down. These guys are maniacs.”

The accident was still under investigation, and no cause had been determined by Tuesday evening.

Grothman was driving east and didn’t witness the accident but stopped beside the ditched semi-truck as its wheels were still spinning.

She said most people immediately jumped out of their cars to move the scattered boards from the roadway.

“It’s amazing how people just helped out,” she said.