On Wednesday, Aug. 18, at approximately 3:03 p.m., Blaine County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a single-vehicle crash on Highway 75 near milepost 167, approximately 1.5 miles north of Smiley Creek Lodge.
Crash scene investigation determined that Laura Hardin-Peterson, age 61, of Corvallis, Ore., was traveling southbound on State Hwy. 75 in a grey 2011 Toyota Highlander. While negotiating an outside left-hand curve in the roadway, the Toyota’s passenger-side wheels left the roadway, and the vehicle traveled off the southbound shoulder through the barrow pit, striking a culvert and side swiping a power pole.
Hardin-Peterson was flown from the scene by air ambulance to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. The vehicle sustained major damage and was towed from the scene. It is unknown if Hardin-Peterson was wearing a seatbelt.