What started with just a “noticeable smell” at a truck stop, led to a hazmat team, decontamination tents, an evacuation, and ambulance rides and overnight hospital stays for 17 people.
At 3:40pm on Friday, August 16th, a mysterious smell was reported at the Bannock Peak Truck Stop and Casino in Idaho. When authorities arrived at the location just off of I-86 near Pocatello, numerous patrons reported feeling ill.
In total, 17 people were taken via ambulance to the local Portneuf Medical Center. Since the hospital didn’t know what had caused the illness, the patients went through a decontamination process in tents outside before being allowed in to the hospital. They were kept overnight for observation as a precaution, but all 17 were released the following day.
Meanwhile, the Pocatello Fire Department told reporters on Friday night that though they had searched the area for hours, they could not find the source of the smell or evidence of hazmat contamination.
Both the casino and truck stop were evacuated and closed down. The truck stop reopened the next day. When casino management put out a press release on Wednesday, they said both the truck stop and casino had been reopened.
“Employees who were on site at the time of the incident were evaluated and released from the Portneuf Medical Center with no confirmed illnesses as a result of any potential exposure,” read a news release cited by the Idaho State Journal.
Source: idahostatejournal, rexburgstandardjournal, idahostatejournal, idahostatejournal, localnews8
Ed says
…Where was DHS?…What if this happens again?…
Suck It says
I get that same feeling when I’m within 20ft of most truck stop restrooms.
Rayzer says
Hahaha!
William C Smith says
When you say restroom do you mean the parking lot?
John Hanks says
Exactly, that’s where all the fat loser truckers do their business. They will waddle across the lot for their McDonalds, but pee in the parking lot rather than walk the 50 yards to the restroom.
Alex says
Either or. They both smell the same
gail morra says
Ha ha ha. Good one!!
gail morra says
Funny!
Mike C. says
Thats fresh air . Try the piss tube in Viet Nam .100 degrees outside and you’re trying to piss but the wind is blowing in your face so , you wait a while till the wind blows away from you and by the time you get there you’re #10 in line. Now its your turn and you take matters at hand but you look at the ground that has been saturated with piss @ 115 degrees.After a few days you’re used to the smell and you just walk up to the tube ,take a look inside to make sure theres enough room with no overflow , and do your thing . Now this will either put hair on your chest or burn it off,depending on which way the wind is blowing .
Josh Droessler says
A driver that hadn’t showered for weeks, had the death smell in his cheeks. He took a poop and filled the place with a horrific smell. That’s why nobody died. They all just got sick to their stomachs.
Larry says
Hell yes, Big boys
Larry says
It was a piss smell from truck drivers pissing in the parking lot.
JAC says
Rotten lot lizards combined with piss jugs dumped out?
gail morra says
It’s pretty pathetic a grown man cant empty a pee bottle isnt it? It’s not your parking lot, fuel island, rest area, or the walking areas.
Clancy says
(H2S) Hydrogen Sulfide
Marion D. Hunt says
This is most likely culprit.
Dan says
Flatbedder changed his clothes
Rambo1 says
” Southern wind brought fumes from red phosphorus plant from down between Bennington and Georgetown, Idaho. Used to travel HWY 30 through there and fumes would accumulate in the valleys between the high country and could gag a maggot ! “
John says
The smell was probably coming from the parking lot. I came out to my truck at the Petro in Wilmington, Illinois, a CRST Malone flatbed parked beside me. The pavement was saturated with pee, smell was terrible, 2 bags of trash thrown up against the side of my truck and 3 large empty cans of Miller. I couldn’t get to my passengers door without walking in his bodily waste. I asked the driver if the trashed belonged to him and he said yes, I asked if he planned on picking it up, he said yes. I thanked him for splattering pee on my truck which he denied. He picked up his trash, when I got up in the morning there was 2 more bags of trash, one had human crap in it. I hate to eat cheese on anyone but I took pictures and called his safety department. We don’t need drivers like this, it’s no wonder customers and Walmart don’t want truckers in their lots.
D says
Exactly
gail morra says
Totally agree how disgusting.
Ralph says
Mob.mentality, hey lets try to.make.smtg out of nothing!!
Super trucker says
How do you guys differentiate between piss and def. Hell the def tank might have popped under the truck stop
John says
If you can’t smell the difference in pee and def there is something wrong with your sniffer
Runaway says
I think that place is just flat out bad luck.
gail morra says
Totally agree how disgusting.
Phchivo says
I caught a guy dumping his piss jug splashed on my truck i was inspecting that just came out the wash. Made him clean it up. Videoed him incase he tried something funny too.
Ray says
Illness could have been food poisoning, I’ve been OTR for 2 years and have gotten it about 3 times. So many bad smells in lots! I’ve never walked across a public truck parking lot with out having to hold my breath from a stench.
Blackfly says
Yeah that behaviour sends a message to everybody that you deserve nothing better than living in a toilet. And that’s what you deserve if you can’t walk to the woods or a bathroom but the rest of us don’t and I call people out for that, including your carrier, It also sends a message to your employers because no one who pisses and craps where they live deserve much pay. How about 17 cents a mile ?
Blackfly says
Yeah that behaviour sends a message to everybody that you deserve nothing better than living in a toilet, and that is what you deserve if you can’t walk to the woods or a bathroom but the rest of us don’t and I call people out for that, including your carrier, It also sends a message to your employers because no one who pisses and craps where they live deserves much pay. How about 17 cents a mile ?
Wendall says
Some pimp/driver/sex trafficker forgot to air out his lot lizards privates after a night of business.