Nicholas Jayce Olsen, 15, of Idaho Falls sat in the passenger seat of a 2018 Ford F-350 on Twin Butte Road near Menan early Saturday. Jaydon Putnam, 18, of Rigby was driving south. The truck left the road, struck an embankment and landed upside down in the Snake River. Both were gone by the time help arrived around 7:20 a.m.
The spot is just north of Menan by the bridge over the river. Idaho State Police took the lead on the call. Deputies from Jefferson and Madison counties, the Bonneville dive team, Rigby officers and Central Fire crews all worked the scene together.
It was a single-vehicle crash on a road locals use all the time. Nothing about the morning stood out until the truck left the pavement and ended up in the water. Both young men died right there.
Word spread through Idaho Falls and Rigby once the coroner released the names. Nicholas was still in his mid-teens. Jaydon had only recently turned 18. Their friends and families now face the silence that follows a loss like this.
Police have not released a cause yet. The truck was found inverted in the Snake River, which made the recovery harder. Teams worked through the morning to handle what needed to be done.
Folks who travel that stretch of Twin Butte Road know how the embankment drops toward the water. On a quiet Saturday it became the place where two lives ended without warning.
The case stays open under Idaho State Police review. In the meantime the people who knew Nicholas and Jaydon hold onto the ordinary days they still remember.
Leave a Reply