Tragedies shake community
During recent weeks, two local lives have been lost as the result of accidents, and one local woman is still at the beginning of a potentially long recovery as a result.
On September 7, Tracy Ray Josephson died in a farming accident in Bancroft. According to reports, Josephsen was fixing the disc machine behind a tractor when a hydraulic hose snapped with him beneath it. Josephson was later officially pronounced dead at Caribou Medical Center in Soda Springs. Josephson was a well-known and universally liked figure in the area. He leaves behind him his wife LaVonne, and their daughter Gracie.
Farming accidents bring home the sometimes unacknowledged danger that comes along with a rural way of life. While there is always an awareness of the potential risks, tragedies like this one always come as a shock.
Josephson worked for Caribou County, and his tragic passing reverberated through the halls of the county courthouse. Commissioners took time at the beginning of their meeting to memorialize Tracy, and during the meeting worked to ensure continuation of his family health insurance for the present.
Josephson’s funeral was held on Saturday. His obituary is being reprinted in this edition of
the paper.
A second tragic accident occurred Wednesday last week at 10:00 a.m. near Thatcher, where an 82-year old male failed to yield the right of way to a motorcycle bearing a local couple.
According to the Idaho State Police, a 1992 Chevy pickup truck driven by an 82-year-old male from Thatcher was travelling northbound on State Highway 34. 56-year-old Darrin Dockstader and his passenger, 46-year-old Tricia Lindsay Dockstader, both from Soda Springs, were travelling southbound on State Highway 34 on a 2011 Harley Davidson. The Chevy pickup truck failed to yield the right of way to the motorcycle while making a left turn onto Thatcher Road.
Darrin succumbed to his injuries at the scene of the crash. Tricia sustained critical injuries and was transported by air ambulance to Utah. The male driver of the Chevy pickup truck was wearing a seatbelt.
According to posts from the family, Tricia has had a number of surgeries on her legs and hands, and is continuing to make good progress at recovery. According to cousin Hailey Dawn Dory, Tricia has asked everyone to “please continue to pray, send healing energy, and hold space
for her!”
The incident remains under investigation by the Idaho State Police, who were on the scene in force Wednesday, along with authorities from Franklin County.
