GEM COUNTY, Idaho — A woman from Utah was killed in an accident Saturday when the motorcycle she was riding on was hit head-on by a Jeep in Idaho.
According to Idaho State Police, a Jeep Renegade traveling north on State Highway 16 just after 4 p.m. crossed the center line and hit a southbound Kawasaki motorcycle. The crash occurred near milepost 110, between the towns of Emmett and Star, and about 25 miles northwest of Boise.
The bike was being driven by a 61-year-old man from Star, and the passenger was a 39-year-old woman from Kearns, Utah. They were both taken to a hospital by medical helicopter, but the woman later died from her injuries.
The woman was later identified by family as Ainslee Larsen. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help her family with funeral costs and other expenses, including medical expenses for her father, who was driving the bike.
"To know her was to love her and she was loved by so many as evidenced by the droves of people who have already reached out and shown up," Larsen's family wrote. "Our love for her will last forever and we miss her dearly."
Her dad, Ray, is stabilized in a medically-induced coma, the family said.
"We can't thank enough the emergency responders, life flight teams, nurses, doctors, and surgeons who got him in and out of an operating room and to the surgical ICU where he appears to have been stabilized in a medically-induced coma," the GoFundMe read. "He has been through a serious accident and one of many surgeries he will require for severe fractures and injuries. We are so grateful that he is hanging on with us and are anxious to hear his voice and feel the grip of his hands again. We are holding on to a glimmer of hope for his recovery and appreciate your earnest prayers."
Both of the riders were wearing helmets.
Police said evidence on the scene indicated that alcohol "may have been involved for the driver of the Jeep," and an investigation is underway. The driver was not named but was identified as a woman from Emmett.
