Crashes snarl bridge traffic
<p>Tow truck operators load one of the cars damaged in a Monday afternoon collision on the Long Bridge. (Photo by CAMERON RASMUSSON)</p>
SANDPOINT — Cars backed up well into the downtown core after series of crashes on the Long Bridge slowed traffic Monday afternoon.
Traffic slowed to a trickle for an hour and half while Idaho State Police dealt with two separate accidents in the middle of the Long Bridge at 3:20 p.m. Cars stacked past the bridge and continued to back up into downtown Sandpoint until state troopers were able to get all damaged vehicles clear of the bridge.
According to troopers at the scene, the incident started when the initial car involved in the accidents veered into the concrete barricade on the side of the bridge. The factors that caused the driver to swerve out of the travel lane are still under investigation. After the initial crash, a separate collision occurred when another car was rear-ended by the vehicle following it.
No one involved in the accidents sustained any injuries from the collisions themselves, according to Idaho State Police Dispatch. However, the individual involved in the initial crash was suffering from an unspecified medical issue unrelated to the accident and was transported to Bonner General.
Immediately following the accidents, both lanes of traffic on the bridge were blocked for about 20 minutes. ISP arrived at the scene within a minute, and officers were able to move the cars aside to create enough room for one lane of travel. Both lanes were reopened to normal traffic after 90 minutes.