Editor’s Note: This article has been updated multiple times since Teton Pass closed Wednesday evening. What follows is a consolidated account of what has been confirmed.
WILSON, Wyo. — A fatal crash on Teton Pass closed all lanes of the highway Wednesday night. The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) issued a text alert at 8:15 p.m. advising drivers of the incident.
Teton County Coroner Brent Blue confirmed to Buckrail that Javier Chavez was killed in the incident. According to the Jackson Hole News&Guide, the 41-year-old was riding as “a passenger in a pickup truck hauling a pallet of rocks on a gooseneck trailer.” The driver of the truck was in serious condition at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center as of Thursday morning. The Pass was closed until 10:46 p.m.
Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) was still investigating the cause of the crash on Thursday morning. WHP Sr. Public Relations Specialist Aaron Brown told Buckrail the eastbound F-250 truck was hauling a single pallet of stones; for still-undetermined reasons, the driver lost control of the vehicle, and the truck departed the road, hit the barrow ditch, and rolled multiple times. The passenger was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the car. He died in transit while being transported by Fire/EMS to be life-flighted.
This is a developing story. Buckrail will provide updates as information becomes available.
