An unidentified man is dead after his vehicle went through a guardrail on U.S. Highway 89 and fell 50 feet into the Snake River Canyon on Thursday night, then went unnoticed for several hours before first responders were made aware.
The Alpine Fire District received reports of a vehicle in the Snake River Canyon at 6:20 a.m. Friday. When they arrived at mile marker 131, they found a badly damaged white vehicle in 1.5 feet of water.
“Sometime last night, the vehicle went parallel to the guardrail for 200 feet, went through the guardrail, over the retaining wall, and rolled 50 feet down into the canyon,” Alpine Fire Chief Mike Vogt told Cowboy State Daily.
A volunteer firefighter with Alpine Fire District was driving through the canyon on his way to work when he got the page. He immediately turned around and was the first on scene.
When the volunteer reached the vehicle, the driver was already deceased. He hadn’t been wearing his seatbelt and had already succumbed to injuries sustained in the crash.
“I don’t know factually, but I’m estimating that (the vehicle) had been there for a couple of hours, at least, before anybody found it,” Vogt said.
Difficult Recovery
Several engines from Alpine Fire District, along with Star Valley EMS, Star Valley Search and Rescue, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, and the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) responded to the scene.
According to Vogt, recovering the victim’s body was difficult.
“Search and Rescue helped us get (the victim) out of the car because he was at least 300 pounds,” Vogt said. “We had to bring extrication tools down with ropes and wade out into the water to get him out.”
The victim’s body was placed on a raft and walked to the Elbow Boat Dock, a quarter mile from the scene, where the Lincoln County Coroner was waiting.
“It would have been very hard to try and raise (the victim) up over the embankment with ropes, given his size,” Vogt said. “The easiest thing was to tether him to the raft and walk him to the coroner's vehicle at the boat dock.”
The vehicle was removed from the Snake River soon after, and responding personnel cleared all debris.
As of Friday afternoon, authorities had not released the victim’s identity.
Even when first responders reached the scene on Friday morning, it was still dark in the Snake River Canyon. That’s why the fatal accident went unreported for so long, Vogt said.
“No one had been able to see him,” he said. “The vehicle didn’t have its lights on or anything, and you wouldn't have been able to see it just driving by.”
Vogt thanked all the agencies that assisted and offered his condolences to the victim’s family and friends.
“The crew at Alpine Fire Wyoming shares their thoughts, prayers, and support for community members and families affected by this tragic loss,” he said.
Dangerous Curves
The section of Highway 89 that goes through the Snake River Canyon is treacherous.
In June, a Lincoln County man lost control of his pickup truck in the canyon, roughly five miles from the site of Friday morning’s incident. His vehicle went through the guardrail and plummeted 20 feet, landing upside down in the river.
The driver walked away from the accident and was treated and released from an Alpine hospital later that day. The Wyoming Highway Patrol cited him for failing to maintain his lane.
WHP spokesman Aaron Brown told Cowboy State Daily that a seatbelt “probably saved his life.”
“That vehicle was pretty crushed,” he said. “After rolling over three times and landing in the river, the driver walks away simply because he was wearing his seat belt.”
Brown took the opportunity to remind Wyoming drivers of the importance of always wearing their seatbelts.
“When people roll their vehicles, and they're not wearing their seat belts, their bodies are going to find a way out of that car,” he said. “You’re going to be ejected, partially or fully. Either way, your chances of survival at that point are slim to none.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
