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Two BSU Students Die Friday, One Injured in Separate Accidents
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One Boise State University firefighter died and another was seriously injured Friday when a van transporting them to a fire in Colorado rolled over on Interstate 70. In a separate accident Friday night, a Boise State graduate student was killed in a plane crash near Atlanta, Idaho.
Jake Martindale died at the scene and Brandon Fiala was critically injured in the van crash in Colorado. Fiala was admitted in serious condition at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo. The hospital spokesperson, Jeff Kirtland, said Fiala suffered multiple trauma injuries, including a head injury. Kirtland said Fiala has since been upgraded to fair condition and was transported to an undisclosed hospital in Utah on Tuesday.
Nampa police chief and Criminal Justice graduate student Alan Creech, 48, died after a plane crash near Atlanta Friday night. Creech was scouting potential campsites for a church outing with Nampa reserve officer Mark Hupe, who also died in the crash.
Martindale, 20, was a sophomore majoring in International Business, and planned to study international economics in Turin, Italy next year through Boise State’s Studies Abroad program. Corrine Henke, Martindale’s Study Abroad adviser, said he was excited by the opportunity to study in Italy.
“He was a really great kid and was working really hard to go to Italy,” Henke said.
Services for Martindale will be held 10:30 a.m. Friday morning at the Shamrock-McMillan LDS Church.
Criminal Justice Professor Andrew Giacomazzi has created a memorial Web site for Creech at http://cja.boisestate.edu/creech.htm. On the Web site, Giacomazzi wrote that Creech was a dedicated student who strived to serve his community.
“Alan was the epitome of a gentleman and a scholar,” Giacomazzi said. “Everything he did in the M.A. program–his in-class discussions, presentations, exams, and papers–centered around his desire to improve quality of life in the region, especially in Nampa.”
A public memorial for Creech and Hupe will be held Thursday morning at 10 a.m. at The Idaho Center in Nampa.
Fiala, 23, is a senior majoring in Communication/English and served as The Arbiter’s Editor in Chief last year.
Dan Morris, The Arbiter advisor, said Fiala significantly added to the quality of reporting during his tenure as editor in chief.
“He was a reporter’s editor,” Morris said. “He had a passion for reporting, and he raised the bar for the standards of news writing at The Arbiter.”
Andrew Benson