Idaho Crash: 2 Animal Rescuers, 14 Dogs Killed On Their Way To Canada Shelter

A man and a woman along with 14 dogs were killed in eastern Idaho after a box truck transporting shelter animals to Canada for a rescue group crashed into an embankment.

According to Idaho State Police, the two Arizona-based animal rescuers identified as Christopher Kracht (40) and Ann Watson (38) were en route to Calgary, Alberta, with 48 dogs, who were set to be placed for adoption, when the accident took place.

The incident was reported Friday morning when their large Ford Econoline box truck “left the interstate on the left shoulder, went into the median and struck an embankment,” Idaho State Police told local media.

Watson, who was the founder of “Who Saved Who Rescue”, a non-profit dog rescue organization out of Phoenix, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Kracht was found with life-threatening injuries and was immediately airlifted to a nearby hospital. He later succumbed to his injuries.

The police said that Kracht, who was driving the vehicle, was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, while Watson was not.

According to the police, no other vehicles were involved in the crash and it is still unclear what caused the accident.

Meanwhile, out of the 48 mixed-breed dogs that were inside the vehicle, 14 died in the crash.

“Investigating troopers say, sadly, in addition to the two people killed in the crash, 14 of the dogs were also found deceased,” police told People, a local publication.

Several dogs managed to escape. 18 have been found and 16 remained unaccounted for, police said.

Several local animal shelters, including the Blackfoot Animal Shelter and Rescue, are now taking care of the dogs that were found at the scene. The dogs will be later transported to Canada.

However, the Blackfoot Animal Shelter in a Facebook post said that only two of the dogs were missing as of Friday.

“We will do everything in our power to ensure that we find the two that are missing and keep the others healthy, happy and safe until they can be sent to the receiving rescue,” the post read.

“We have traps set that we will be monitoring through the night. Again there are only two loose. We do not want people to be on the freeway and endangering their lives please stay safe,” they added.