A tour bus carrying dozens of Asian tourists through the scenic environs of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming was involved in a serious accident, sending dozens of people to the hospital and requiring overnight stays for many.
According to Jackie Skaggs, spokesman for the park, the bus was traveling on a busy highway in the middle of the afternoon when it apparently flipped onto its side. Initial analysis of what happened points to the possibility that the bus began to run off of the pavement onto the side of the road, and when its driver turned its wheel sharply in order to correct the vehicle’s path, the over-correction caused it to flip. After landing on its side the bus apparently slid some distance, though there is no current information on how far it went. The incident is under investigation by the Wyoming Highway Patrol and national park rangers, though at this point no charges have been filed. No other vehicles were involved in the incient.
There were approximately twenty passengers riding on the bus at the time of the accident. Two were taken by airlift to a hospital in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where they were listed in fair condition. Another five were hospitalized in the immediate vicinity of Jackson, Wyoming and were said to have suffered non-life-threatening injuries, though some may be in need of surgery. The others who were on board were taken to a Wyoming hospital for evaluation and treatment of minor injuries and then released. All of those on board were from a number of different Asian nations. The bus driver was also taken to the hospital for treatment, though his condition and the extent of his injuries were unknown. Witnesses say that the driver remained with the vehicle until all of the passengers had been taken care of. The driver’s name was not released.
The highway where the accident took place is U.S. 89, just north of Colter Bay Village on Jackson Lake. U.S. 89 is a north-south roadway that connects the Grand Teton National Park to Yellowstone National Park, which is where the medium-sized bus was headed. According to Skaggs, this is the busiest time of year for the roadway, which is heavily traveled. The accident closed the route down for several hours; it reopened at approximately 9:30 that night.