A routine drive over Teton Pass turned into a white-knuckle spectacle Wednesday when the RV appeared to lose its brakes and barreled downhill, weaving through traffic before somehow reaching the bottom without crashing.
The frightening descent was captured on video (without audio) by Jeff Bernhard, who was traveling from Victor, Idaho, to Jackson when the motorhome suddenly came flying up behind his vehicle in the oncoming lane.
"My driver's exact words were, 'Oh, shit, here it goes again,'" Bernhard told Cowboy State Daily. "It was kind of surreal."
Watching through his phone, Bernhard feared he was witnessing another deadly crash.
"It was hard to film, honestly," he said. "I had an eerie feeling that I've had a few other times where it feels like someone's about to die. I'm just so grateful that's not how this turned out."
The video shows the motorhome racing downhill, passing slower traffic while the driver appears focused entirely on keeping the vehicle on the roadway.
Remarkably, everyone walked away unharmed.
Bernhard said the motorhome continued through Wilson, crossed the bridge into Jackson and eventually pulled safely off the road. Later that day, he saw what appeared to be the same motorhome traveling south of Jackson.
"I was concerned after we left that maybe his brakes caught on fire or something," he said. "But that doesn't appear to be the case."
Cowboy State Daily has asked the Wyoming Highway Patrol whether troopers responded to the incident, whether the driver suffered a mechanical failure and whether the agency is investigating.
Still Fresh In Drivers' Minds
Bernhard's reaction reflects what had happened on the same stretch of highway about a week earlier.
On July 7, a dump truck hauling asphalt descended Teton Pass after losing its brakes. Investigators said the truck crossed into oncoming traffic, struck five vehicles — including two pickup trucks, a motorcycle and a Subaru — before overturning.
The crash killed Nicholas Besobrasow, 66, of Idaho, and David Page, 57, of California. Four other people were injured.
Survivor Caleb Batista told Cowboy State Daily he thought he was going to be thrown off the mountainside after the truck hit his motorcycle.
Another witness, Dumitru Cebotari, described seeing smoke pouring from the truck while its engine screamed down the grade, realizing almost immediately the driver could not stop.
For Bernhard, Wednesday's video looked frighteningly familiar.
"That was where his mind went — and mine too" he said, in reference to the earlier tragedy.
A Mountain That Demands Respect
Drivers who regularly travel Teton Pass often describe it with two seemingly contradictory words: beautiful and intimidating.
Bernhard is one of them.
"It's a beautiful area," he said. "But driving and towing especially can be really consequential."
The pass carries thousands of commuters between Victor and Jackson, along with commercial trucks, RVs, motorcycles and tourists unfamiliar with steep mountain driving. Its long downhill grade and tight switchbacks leave little margin for mechanical problems.
Bill Sniffin knows that firsthand.
A veteran motorhome owner with more than 50,000 miles behind the wheel of RVs and the author of numerous columns about driving them, Sniffin said he immediately recognized the danger when he watched Bernhard's video.
"I've had that experience," he said.
Even experienced drivers, he said, don't take Teton Pass lightly.
"I've gone down Teton Pass before, and it is scary to death," Sniffin said. "In my case, I'm driving a 32,000-pound rig and towing a car, and the traffic is terrible, and the hairpin turns. You're literally white-knuckle. Your life is passing before your eyes."
When Brakes Aren't Enough
Sniffin said many larger diesel motorhomes are equipped with what's known as a Jake brake — an engine braking system that slows heavy vehicles on long descents without relying heavily on conventional brakes.
Smaller motorhomes often don't have that equipment because of the added expense, forcing drivers to depend much more on their service brakes.
"I used to have a smaller rig that didn't have Jake brakes," Sniffin said. "It was terrifying because you could start smelling your brakes when you came down a pass. When that happened, you knew you were borderline. You had to stop and let them cool down, and if there was no place to stop, you were in trouble."
Sniffin emphasized he has no way of knowing what happened to the motorhome in Wednesday's video.
But he said long mountain descents have a way of exposing problems that may never reveal themselves on flatter highways.
"It's very lucky that there wasn't a horrible collision," he said.
Another Reminder
Whether the motorhome suffered brake failure or another mechanical problem remains unknown.
But for commuters who travel Teton Pass every day, Wednesday's close call served as another reminder of how quickly a routine drive can become an emergency.
"It demands more respect than what most people give it," Bernhard said.
"You've got to think twice. Unfortunately, you've got to kind of know how scary it is. Otherwise, people just sort of hope for the best."
On Teton Pass, that difference can come down to only a few seconds.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
