JACKSON, Wyo. — The truck driver involved in the multivehicle Teton Pass collision that left two people dead on July 7 has been charged with two counts of homicide by vehicle.
According to charging documents filed Tuesday in circuit court, 22-year-old Laiton McMinn from Ririe, Idaho, was charged twice for allegedly operating a vehicle in a criminally negligent manner such that his conduct was “the proximate cause of death of another person.” McMinn was driving a dump truck hauling asphalt when he reportedly lost control and rear-ended a motorcycle, leading to a chain reaction that caused the two fatalities and four additional injuries. Nicholas Besobrasow, a 66-year-old Tetonia resident, and 57-year-old David Page of Mammoth Lakes, California, died at the scene.
The high misdemeanor charges carry a potential sentence of one year of imprisonment and a fine of $2,000. The charges were brought by Teton County and Prosecuting Attorney Dick Stout based on an affidavit for arrest warrant signed by Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) Trooper Brad Latchaw.
Per Trooper Latchaw’s affidavit, it was driver judgment rather than equipment failure that caused the accident.
“The crash occurred because of driver error,” the statement reads. “Based on the evidence and witness statements, Laiton came off the pass too fast. Laiton overused his brakes, which caused them to fade. Laiton elected to not pullover and/or take the run-away escape ramp. This crash was totally preventable. … If Laiton had taken the escape ramp, this crash would have never occurred. The cause of this crash was due to ‘brake fading.'”
Latchaw defines “brake fading” as “the sudden or gradual loss of stopping power that happens when the brakes get too hot from the overuse of brakes.” He also noted in his statement that McMinn holds a valid Class A commercial driver’s license and an education from Sage Truck Driving School in Idaho Falls, suggesting both of which should have prepared him for maintaining “proper mountain driving techniques.”
McMinn was reportedly driving a 1992 Kenworth vehicle registered to Avail Valley Construction, based in Victor, Idaho. He is scheduled to appear in court before Judge Erin Weisman on Sept. 10.
