On the “bad day” scale of 1 to 10, we’d have to rate this one as an 11. A Pocatello, Idaho, man was driving his motorhome down an area street when his “brakes failed,” and the wayward rig crashed through a guardrail and into a river. The motorhome in the river incident sent two to the hospital.
Motorhome in the Portneuf River
Idaho’s Portneuf River near downtown Pocatello became a looky-loo’s paradise last Wednesday afternoon when the 1977 Beaver Monterey Class C turned a dead-end street into an ersatz diving board. The unnamed owner tried to stop, but the brakes in the elderly rig just wouldn’t cooperate.
Firefighters and police arrived to assist at the river-end of West Bonneville street. After safely landing ladders on the top of the motorhome, they descended with tools used like a can opener to cut an access hole in the top of the semi-sunken rig. We say “semi-sunken” as the water level of the river kept most of the rig dry.
Rescuers were able to extricate the driver and a female passenger. They then loaded them on ambulances for transport to a hospital for treatment of their injuries. Another motorhome rider, their dog, was also pulled out of the wreckage. No hospital bed for Rover. He wasn’t hurt, and became a guest at the local animal shelter.
The motorhome in the river eventually was pulled out by a wrecker, and appears to be a total loss.
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Wow! that was, I am sure, one scary ride into the water! Sad day in Idaho for these folks. Hope their recovery is swift and injuries are minimal!
Thank you, Russ and Tina! Wow! I wonder how recently the rig had been serviced and the engine, transmission, and brakes checked? Very glad they were largely (fully?) unharmed. I hope their insurance was current, so that they get a few dollars toward buying a replacement. Have a great week and safe travels!
Doing an in-cab brake check is vital.
Your state CDL manual lists the procedure for both hydraulic and air brakes.
I realize I cannot prevent every possible problem, but I am obsessive about maintenance.
I think the vast majority of the time when the “brakes failed”, what they really mean is that the driver failed.
Brakes might not have worked but the throttle certainly did…..
I just replaced the brakes on our Montana 5th wheel with “authentic” Dexter brake kits and new drums from Amazon. Twice the price of similar kits available, but you get what you pay for! Some things you just have to pay for quality components.
I’m glad to hear the couple made it okay. I hope they don’t get the run-around from their insurance company. Those two have a whopper of a story to tell their grandchildren…Lol