ABERDEEN, Idaho (AP)—Authorities say a stolen pickup truck was found impaled on 30 feet of guardrail in Idaho, but the driver was nowhere to be found.
Steve Howser, the general manager of The Aberdeen -Springfield Canal Company near Pocatello, said one of his workers was driving along the canal Sunday when he came across the pickup that was run completely through by a steel guard rail and left partially dangling in the water.
The sheriff’s office said the vehicle was reported stolen earlier that day.
“Somebody made the comment that he must have been driving like he stole it,” Howser said. “We have a car go into the canal a couple of times of year, but nothing like this — there’s probably 30 feet of guardrail through it.”
The steel rail pierced the engine compartment and passed through the passenger side of the cab before exiting the rear window, with several yards of the rail left jutting out from the back of the vehicle.
Workers searched the canal several times but found no sign of the driver. There was no indication of serious injury inside the vehicle either, Howser said.
“There might have been one tiny little spot of what looked like blood on the dashboard, but that was it,” he said. “It looked like a miracle to us.”
Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland said he’s seen cars pierced by railings several times in his career, and suspects the driver was either intoxicated or distracted at the time.
“He was cruising pretty good. Pretty lucky to walk away,” Rowland said.
The incident remains under investigation.
