NAMPA -- A Caldwell man is dead after a head-on crash between a 2004 Jeep Wrangler and a semi-truck pulling two trailers on State Highway 45 south of Nampa Friday morning.
Idaho State Police troopers were called to the intersection of Highway 45 and Missouri Avenue at 4:37 a.m.
Police say the driver of the Jeep, 27-year-old Joel Roach, was not wearing a seatbelt and ejected from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
His passenger, 28-year-old Shawn Wright of Nampa, was taken to St. Alphonus in Nampa. He was not injured and has since been released from the hospital.
The driver of the 2007 Sterling semi, 49-year-old Tony Hopson of Middleton, was wearing a seatbelt and was not hurt in the crash.
Police believe alcohol could have been a factor in the accident.
The southbound and northbound lanes of the highway were blocked for about four hours at the Deer Flat Road intersection. The highway was reopened to traffic around 8:45 a.m.
