Idaho I-84: Wrong-Way Drivers & Fatal Crash Reported

A 20-year-old woman died Friday night after a wrong-way driver fleeing a prior collision caused a four-vehicle crash on Interstate 84 near Nampa, Idaho. Gabriela Gonzalez, of Homedale, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Canyon County Coroner’s Office.

The incident began at approximately 7:54 p.m. On eastbound I-84 at milepost 32, when a silver 2003 Ford F350, driven by a 37-year-old man from Nampa, reportedly fled the scene of an earlier crash and entered the eastbound lanes traveling westbound. The truck initially sideswiped a 2024 Freightliner Cascadia driven by a 61-year-old man from Jacksonville, Florida, causing no injury to the semi-truck driver.

The Ford F350 then collided head-on with a silver 2013 Hyundai Elantra driven by a 23-year-old man from Ontario, Oregon. Gonzalez was a passenger in the Hyundai. A silver 2019 Honda HRV, driven by a 23-year-old woman from Nampa, with a 20-year-old passenger from Ontario, Oregon, was also involved in the collision.

Idaho State Police reported that all other individuals involved in the crash were transported to local hospitals for treatment of their injuries. Eastbound lanes of I-84 were blocked for approximately four hours as authorities investigated the scene and cleared the wreckage.

This incident marks at least the second reported case of a wrong-way driver on I-84 in Southwest Idaho within the past three days, prompting increased attention to the issue from the Idaho State Police. The investigation into the cause of the initial flight from the scene and the subsequent wrong-way driving remains ongoing.