Rain, snow, and wind were a dangerous combination on the interstate near Mountain Home.
Police responded to half a dozen rollover accidents Tuesday, and numerous slide-offs.
The best way to describe road conditions between Boise and Mountain is to call it slick and icy. It was a combination that proved treacherous for a lot of drivers this morning.
Crash after crash, emergency crews spent the morning pulling out cars and flipping them back over on all four wheels.
As the wind picked up and snow came down, conditions got worse.
Things were so bad that Idaho State Police officers took measurements on just how bad they were. And they're saying the road is just a sheet of ice right now. Officers utilize a piece of equipment called a drag box to measure the road conditions.
“What we basically do is try drag it on the road to figure out how slippery it is," said Trooper Quinn Carmack with the Idaho State Police.
A 0.8 reading is comparable to summer-like conditions with plenty of traction. A 0.2 is like a skating rink.
“It’s going right around 1.6, 1.7,” Carmack said.
Even as many drivers slowed down to better handle the conditions, accidents continued to happen.
Police said one man in a pick-up lost control and rolled near the Stage Stop gas station. He had minor injuries.
Four miles farther down the road, a semi is parked after it jack-knifed.
But it was near Mountain Home where we saw the worst accident.
Two men got trapped inside a truck.
"(It) lost control, slid off the shoulder and overturned," said Trooper Jason Bailey with the Idaho State Police.
The crushed cab made it difficult for crews to get to the men.
Using the jaws of life, rescuers cut them out of the wreckage and put them on stretchers.
The men had neck and back injuries.
Officers said that this was one of the worse days they had seen on a stretch of road like this.
Most of the people in the accidents had minor injuries.
Emergency crews say if you don't have to make that drive between Boise and Mountain Home, it's better if you stay home.
