Idaho Crash: Teen Siblings Fatal Wreck So ‘Gruesome,’ First Responder Suffers Massive Heart Attack
No parent should have to bury their child, let alone two at the same time.
A Friday funeral service for two Idaho teenagers killed in a horrific crash will recall how the siblings shared an uncommon connection. The brother and sister died last week in a triple fatal collision that was so grisly that two emergency first responders were stricken by the motor vehicle accident death scene: one suffered a heart attack, the other a mental event, according to the Idaho State Journal.
Eric Neibaur and Lauren Neibaur, 15 and 13, respectively, died in a horrific head-on collision near the town of McCammon on US 30. They were headed home from a family getaway that included camping and dirt bike riding in Island Park.
Their mother and father rode ahead in another vehicle while Eric trailed and Lauren trailed in a pickup, and they periodically kept a watchful eye on their children. At some point, the mom noticed Eric’s truck was no longer within view.
She soon received a telephone call from another relative who shared the heart-stopping news: the kids were involved in a vehicular crash some distance behind and died in the Idaho wreck.
Apparently, Eric’s vehicle crashed head-on into an SUV after the teen’s truck veered out of his lane of travel. The driver of that vehicle, 70-year-old Nampa resident Jay Lanningham, also died in the wreck.
The NY Post wrote that an Idaho first responder assigned to the Bannock County Search and Rescue group experienced a life-threatening crisis on the scene. Reports say the emergency worker was so overcome while trying to extricate the dead occupants that they suffered a heart attack.
Head-on crash that killed teen siblings was so gruesome medic suffered heart attack https://t.co/w7YUubo4he
— The Irish Sun (@IrishSunOnline) June 23, 2017
Moreover, a police officer on the scene, who met with and tried calming arriving family members during extrication, was “deeply shaken” by the deaths. He was reportedly authorized to take time off to recover from the tragedy of the Idaho fatalities.
Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen said the Father’s Day crash is something the community — especially those on the scene — will not soon forget due to its horrific nature.
“The difference between this accident and others is that the damage was so horrific and there weren’t any skid marks. All of us have seen death before, but when we have kids that are about the same age it really hits home a bit more than anything else does.”
Deputy Charles Bannister, who personally knows the Neibaur family, was one of the first officers to arrive on the grim scene. Although three people lost their lives in such a painful way, he was moved by the show of support from locals. Those who helped — mainly complete strangers — “had a total and complete loss of concern for themselves.
Friends who knew Lauren and Eric Neibaur say they were “inseparable” and “had a magical connection.” One person said God saw it fit to take them both because they couldn’t live without the other. The deceased attended the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District where Eric played football and Lauren was a member of the cheer squad.
[Featured Image by ESB Professional/Shutterstock]
