The man driving just feet behind a pickup that erupted in flames Friday on an eastern Idaho highway says there was no crash, no plume of smoke and almost no warning before an explosion engulfed the cab with 8-year-old Kynzlee Rae Luthy still inside.
Russ Little was following his daughter, Lacie Bennett, and her husband, Addison Bennett, closely as they traveled U.S. Highway 20 near Ashton Hill on Friday afternoon.
It was a familiar road. Little estimates the family has traveled it thousands of times over the past 20 years.
This time, they were headed to pick up a camper, which is why Little was following in a second vehicle.
For most of the drive, he said, nothing seemed wrong.
There was no smoke. No fumes.
Then he noticed fire underneath the bed of the 2003 Chevrolet 2500.
Little drove ahead and alerted Addison, his son-in-law, that he needed to pull over, and he did.
Lacie opened her door. Addison opened his.
Then, Little said, the truck exploded.
“This happened over the space of seconds,” he said.
‘Like Sticking Your Face In A Blowtorch’
Little was ahead of the pickup by then and looking into his rearview mirror.
He said the force threw Addison and Lacie from the truck, with Lacie going over the guardrail and down the hill.
Behind him, flames shot higher than the livestock trailer the pickup was towing, Little said. From his vantage point, the fire appeared concentrated around the cab.
Kynzlee was still in the back seat.
Addison immediately went back for her.
“It was like sticking your face in a blowtorch, it was that hot,” Little said.
Little tried, too.
He said the heat became so intense as he approached the truck that he could feel the skin on his arms and face beginning to melt.
There was no way to reach her. Little said he knew then that anyone still inside the burning pickup was already gone.
Kynzlee, of Hibbard, Idaho, died at the scene.
Addison was flown by helicopter to a burn unit in Idaho Falls, Little said, where he underwent skin grafts. He is expected to recover.
Not A Crash
Little is adamant that what he witnessed wasn't a collision.
“It was not a crash. It was not an accident,” he said.
“It’s been reported that it was an overheated truck and it was fire,” Little said, but he believes that description gives people the wrong impression.
Idaho State Police previously reported the Chevrolet was near the top of Ashton Hill at about 5:23 p.m. Oct. 9 when it overheated and caught fire.
“The explosion more or less took place inside the cab for unknown reasons,” Little said.
Cowboy State Daily reached out to Idaho State Police for clarification about what investigators believe caused the fire and why the incident was initially described as a crash, but did not receive a response.
In earlier reporting, another witness, Sabrina Wilson Birch, said she first spotted smoke in the distance. As she got closer, she said a line of about 20 vehicles, black smoke and horses along the highway became visible.
She watched the helicopter circle the scene before landing out of sight and later learned someone was being flown out.
Police identified the driver only as a 26-year-old man from Thayne, Wyoming. Little said Addison now lives in Rexburg with Lacie, his wife. The couple married in June.
Part Of The Family
Kynzlee's parents, Rachel and Russ Luthy, were not in the pickup.
She was traveling with people her obituary calls her “bonus family” — the Russ and Margo Little family.
Little said his family had known Kynzlee since she was about 3 months old.
They started helping care for her when a babysitter was needed. Over the years, Little said, she became a part of their family.
Kynzlee lived her entire life in Hibbard and attended Hibbard Elementary School, where her obituary says she loved her teachers, friends and recess.
She loved animals, especially horses and dogs, and recently got a horse of her own.
She helped move and sort cattle in the spring and went camping during fall roundup.
She loved stuffed animals, forts, unicorns, rainbows and tickles.
Swimming was another favorite. Her obituary says she could spend hours in a pool — or even a water trough — without much concern about the temperature.
She loved just about everything, her family wrote. Except the wind.
Her favorite colors lately were black and purple, with pink coming in a close third.
‘We Only Have So Many Chores’
In the days since the fire, the same eastern Idaho community Kynzlee grew up in has surrounded both families.
The North Fremont Fire District, which responded to the fire, held a fill-the-boot fundraiser Sunday to help the Luthy family with funeral and other expenses.
Firefighters stood outside in the rain collecting donations, and the response was strong enough that the department extended its fundraising effort through Friday.
“We are truly amazed by the support and generosity we have seen,” the fire district said in announcing the extension.
The department has also warned the community about a fake social media account mimicking its page amid the fundraising effort and urged donors to make sure they are using legitimate donation information.
Little has seen the same desire to help firsthand.
People keep asking what they can do for the family.
“We only have so many chores,” he said. What he would rather have now are memories.
He asks people who knew Kynzlee to share their favorite stories about the little girl who loved horses, dogs and her friends — something her family can keep after the casseroles eventually stop coming.
“We are very grateful we live in the kind of community we do,” Little said.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
