Eyewitnesses tells “very terrible” crash, in which 7 was killed in front of West Yellowstone

A Dodge Ram pickup and a Mercedes car van collided about 15 miles from the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park on Thursday evening and killed seven people: six in the tour van and the only resident of the pick -up, say the authorities.

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

The Idaho State Police replied on Thursday at 7.15 p.m. on Highway 20 near Henry's Lake for a collision between the pick -up and tour van. An explanation that the agency published on Friday.

There were 14 people in the van and six died.

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

The authorities had published no names, age groups, home cities or nationalities of the deceased on Friday morning because the extent of the incident and the ongoing process of notification of the next relative were notified, the explanation says.

The Coroner's Office of Fremont County will publicly identify the deceased after notifying her closest relatives.

“Terrible,” says eyewitnesses

Roger Merrill, who arrived in a traffic flow about five minutes after the crash and observed its consequences, said Cowboy State Daily to be the inmates of Tour van Schieden, and other Chinese nationals who traveled through the area, stood on site and translated for the survivors.

With the help of these translators, some travelers gave the survivors when they got cold and water in bottles, said Merrill.

He started making a video and said Cowboy State Daily that at the time he knew how difficult the crash was and how many people had died on site, he would not have recorded the consequences.

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

After about 10 or 15 minutes, the truck's engine compartment spent what Merrill thought first, steam, he said. Then it broke out in flames and the flames spread quickly and devoured both the truck and the van.

Since then, Merrill has heard that the responses extracted deceased people from the rubble a few hours after the beginning of the evening.

Until the facts of what happened to tell him something else: “I decide to believe that they died in the crash and not in the flames,” said Merrill.

Although it is difficult to recognize from the scene in which direction every vehicle was on the road when the wreck happened, Merrill said that he was confident that it was a frontal collision. The front driver side of the truck was strongly influenced. Panels and pieces were bent into the air above the cabin.

“Very terrible,” he added.

Merrill had a cell phone service in this area and believes that the first person who arrived on site could call 911 immediately.

Nevertheless, he said, the first aiders took a few minutes to come:

Examined

The highway was completely closed for almost seven hours, while rescue workers and the Idaho transport department worked to manage the scene and extinguish the street.

The debris had “complete blockade,” said Bart Quayle, Sheriff of Idaho, to Cowboy State Daily on Friday.

It is now open to regular traffic.

ISP says that it examines the cause of the collision and provides updates.

An earlier explanation that the agency published on Thursday states that the medical staff of emergency doctors treated at least 16 patients. A flight truck and additional air and floor resources were sent.

That evening was not bad weather in the game, said Quayle. The area is remote, the highway is a two -lane, he said.

In the island of Park Fire Crews, around 7:38 a.m., when the tour bus caught fire after the crash, he said.

“Obviously our condolences (go) of the family,” said Quayle. “This is one of the greatest traffic deaths that we had in Fremont County.”

He said that law enforcement agencies, medical response, volunteers, state police, air ambulance and other respons all worked well together, and he expressed himself “overwhelming gratitude” for everyone who answered.

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

Clair McFarland can be achieved clair@cowboystatedaily.com.