A 74-year-old truck driver from Reno, Nevada, died after his tractor-trailer left Interstate 84 and overturned east of Boise, Idaho, early Monday.
The single-vehicle crash occurred at approximately 3:08 a.m. Oct. 12 near milepost 62 in Ada County, along the eastbound lanes of I-84, according to Idaho State Police.
Authorities said the driver was operating a 2024 International semi-truck pulling a trailer when the vehicle left the roadway, traveled along an embankment for a short distance and overturned.
The driver was transported by ground ambulance to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Authorities said the driver was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
The driver’s identity had not been released in the initial police report.
The crash blocked the right eastbound lane of I-84 for approximately three hours while emergency crews responded and investigators examined the scene.
Authorities have not disclosed what caused the truck to leave the roadway. The incident remains under investigation.
Interstate 84 is a major east-west freight corridor connecting Idaho with Oregon and Utah, serving commercial trucking operations throughout the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West.
Fatal truck crashes remain a national safety concern
Federal crash data show thousands of fatal crashes involving large commercial trucks each year, although complete figures for January through September 2026 are not yet available.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s preliminary Motor Carrier Management Information System data, updated Aug. 28, recorded 1,607 fatal crashes involving large trucks nationwide in 2026, resulting in 1,768 deaths.
The figures represent crashes reported through the agency’s available data snapshot, not a complete January-through-September tally.
For comparison, FMCSA’s database lists 3,784 fatal large-truck crashes and 4,209 fatalities for calendar year 2025. Those figures also remain provisional and subject to revision.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 5,340 people died in crashes involving large trucks in 2024, down 2.5% from 2023. About 70% of those killed were occupants of other vehicles.
In Idaho, preliminary figures released Sept. 11 by the Idaho Transportation Department showed 150 traffic deaths statewide in 2026, compared with 174 during the corresponding period in 2025. Those totals include all vehicle types, not just commercial trucks.
The department identified failure to wear a seat belt, failure to maintain a lane, impairment, inattention and speeding among the leading contributing circumstances in fatal crashes statewide.
Investigators in Idaho have not determined whether any of those factors, other than the driver’s reported lack of a seat belt, played a role in Monday’s crash.
Why it matters: The fatal rollover highlights the risks commercial drivers face in single-vehicle crashes and the importance of seat belt use.
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