Every motorcyclist who has ridden a two-lane mountain highway knows the feeling: a tight blind curve ahead, a double yellow line painted clear as a warning, and the hope that oncoming traffic respects what the road is telling them.
On U.S. Highway 12 east of Kooskia, Idaho, that hope was not enough. Around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16, a 2019 Ford F-150 crossed the double yellow centerline in a marked no-passing zone and collided head-on with three riders enjoying a vacation trip through the mountains.
The driver, Neale Brewer, 60, of Colorado Springs, was attempting to pass another vehicle when she struck the three motorcyclists traveling in the opposite direction. The impact left no survivors among the riders. All three suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene.
The stretch of Highway 12 that runs through that corridor is widely regarded as one of the most scenic motorcycle routes in the American West, which makes the circumstances here particularly grim.
The victims were identified as Sgt. Jeremy Coleman, 45, of Berthoud; Deputy Ethan Powers, 35, of Timnath; and Nathan McCormick, 26, of Loveland, Coleman’s son-in-law. Two of the three men served with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado. They were not on duty. They were on a motorcycle trip, doing exactly what riders live for. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office described them as “incredible people who dedicated their lives to making Larimer County better every single day.”
Brewer was transported to a local hospital for medical evaluation following the crash, then released and subsequently arrested and booked into the Idaho County Jail on probable cause for three counts of vehicular manslaughter. The highway was shut down for roughly six and a half hours while investigators processed the scene. Three families are now dealing with the kind of news no one should ever have to receive.
A No-Passing Zone Is Not a Suggestion
The preliminary investigation indicates the F-150 was traveling westbound when the driver attempted to pass another vehicle in a marked no-passing zone, crossing the double yellow centerline into the path of the eastbound motorcyclists.
No-passing zones exist precisely because sightlines are compromised and oncoming traffic has nowhere to go. On a highway like U.S. 12, those zones are not bureaucratic formality. They are survival math.
U.S. Highway 12 Is a Bucket-List Ride
U.S. Highway 12 through north-central Idaho follows the Lochsa River corridor through the Clearwater National Forest and is considered one of the premier motorcycle touring routes in the country. The road is narrow, twisting, and stunning. It also demands full attention from everyone behind a wheel, in both directions.
The irony is that the same qualities that draw riders to it, the curves, the scenery, the relative solitude, are precisely what make an ill-timed passing attempt so catastrophic.
Three Counts of Vehicular Manslaughter
Brewer was booked into the Idaho County Jail on three counts of vehicular manslaughter. Idaho vehicular manslaughter charges carry serious consequences, and the case will now move through the courts with the full weight of three deaths attached to it.
The investigation remains active with Idaho State Police leading the inquiry.
The Ride That Did Not Come Home
The Colorado Fraternal Order of Police identified Coleman and Powers by their ranks and noted that McCormick was Coleman’s son-in-law, adding that “the law enforcement profession is built on service, sacrifice, and commitment to others.” Three men set out together on a ride.
The fact that two of them happened to wear badges for a living only adds a layer to a story that would be devastating under any circumstances. For the motorcycling community, the names and the road will not be forgotten
Prayers and Blessings out to the families for such a terrible tragedy that should not have been. I have been riding for 57 years and know the joys and pleasure there is in the sport. But also the danger that others present to it.
Why? Stupid Drivers.