Eyewitness Recounts "Very Horrific” Crash That Killed 7 Outside Yellowstone

A Dodge Ram pickup and a Mercedes passenger van collided Thursday evening about 15 miles from the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park, killing seven people: six in the tour van and the lone occupant of the pickup, authorities say.

Several minutes after the crash, both vehicles caught fire, an eyewitness says.

Idaho State Police responded at about 7:15 p.m. Thursday to Highway 20 near Henry’s Lake for a collision between the pickup and tour van, says a statement the agency released Friday.

There were 14 people in the van, and six of them died.

The driver of the pickup also died in the crash, the statement says.

Authorities hadn’t released names, ages, hometowns or nationalities of the deceased as of Friday morning because of the “magnitude of the incident and the ongoing process of notifying the next of kin,” the statement says.

The Fremont County Coroner’s Office will identify the decedents publicly after notifying their next of kin.

'Horrific,' Says Eyewitness

Roger Merrill, who arrived on scene in a flow of traffic about five minutes after the crash and watched its aftermath, told Cowboy State Daily the tour van occupants appeared to be Chinese nationals, and that other Chinese nationals traveling through the area stopped on scene and translated for the survivors.

With the help of these translators, some travelers gave the survivors blankets as they got cold, and bottled water, Merrill said.

He started taking video, and told Cowboy State Daily that had he known at the time how severe the crash was and how many people had died on scene, he would not have recorded the aftermath.

“I had no idea — none of us did — that there were people (still in the van),” he said.

After about 10 or 15 minutes, the engine compartment of the truck emitted what Merrill at first thought was steam, he said. Then it burst into flames, and the flames spread quickly, engulfing both the truck and van.

Merrill has since heard that responders were extracting deceased people from the wreckage several hours into the evening.

Until the facts of what happened tell him otherwise, “I’m choosing to believe they perished in the crash and not the flames,” Merrill said.

Though it’s difficult to tell from the scene which direction each vehicle was traveling when the wreck happened, Merrill said he was confident it was a head-on collision. The front driver’s side of the truck was heavily impacted. Panels and pieces were bent about six feet into the air above the cab.

“Very horrific,” he added.

Merrill had cellphone service in that area and believes the first person to arrive on scene was able to call 911 right away.

Still, he said, it took first responders several minutes to arrive, “(which has) nothing to do with them being slow to respond” but because of how remote the area is.

Under Investigation

The highway was fully closed for almost seven hours while emergency responders and the Idaho Transportation Department worked to manage the scene and clear the road.

There was “complete blockage” from the debris, Idaho’s Fremont County Sheriff Bart Quayle told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.

It’s now open to regular traffic.

ISP says it’s investigating the cause of the collision and will provide updates.

An earlier statement the agency released Thursday says emergency medical personnel treated at least 16 patients. One air ambulance and additional air and ground resources were dispatched.

No inclement weather was in play that evening, said Quayle. The area is remote, the highway is a two-lane, he said.

Island Park fire crews were on scene at about 7:38, as the tour bus caught fire after the crash, he said.

“Obviously our condolences (go) to the family,” said Quayle. “This is one of the largest traffic fatalities we’ve had in Fremont County.”

He said law enforcement, medical responders, volunteers, state police, air ambulance, and other responders all cooperated well together, and he voiced “overwhelming gratitude” toward everyone who responded.

The Idaho State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.