NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

BLACKBERRY EDITION

Monday, September 11, 2006

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INCIDENTS

Yellowstone NP

Driver Arrested Following Fatal Accident

One person was killed and another hospitalized after an accident late on the night of Wednesday, September 6th. The accident happened shortly before midnight on the road between Mammoth Hot Springs and the park's North Entrance. The driver of a red Chevrolet Avalanche traveling through Gardner River Canyon lost control of the vehicle, which skidded more than 160 feet, struck a guardrail, continued 45 feet down an embankment, and came to rest upside down along a river bank. Park fire, EMS and rescue personnel had to right the Avalanche before extricating the occupants. The driver, C.S., 27, of Mount Pleasant, Michigan, was flown by Air Idaho Rescue helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center; the passenger, M.W., 27, also from Mount Pleasant, did not survive. Alcohol was involved. C.S. was arrested on Thursday night following his release from the hospital and charged on several counts. More than 25 park and Park County Sheriff's Department personnel were involved in the accident response. [Public Affairs]

Grand Teton NP

Head-On Vehicle Collision Results In Fatality

A head-on collision between two vehicles on the night of Wednesday, September 6th, resulted in the death of G.N., 81, of Jackson, Wyoming. The accident took place on Highway 26/89/191 near the park's south boundary. Although emergency medical care was administered at the accident scene, G.N. could not be revived. G.N. was driving northbound in a 1986 Chevy Suburban when he apparently veered into oncoming traffic while attempting to avoid a vehicle that had paused to make a left-hand turn onto Warm Springs Road. As G.N. steered into the southbound traffic lane, he crashed head-on into a 2006 Chevy pick-up truck driven by S.M., 47, of Wilson, Wyoming. Although the air bags in S.M.'s truck deployed, he and his passenger received injuries in the accident and were transported by a Teton County ambulance to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson for evaluation and treatment. Other motorists who came upon the accident scene removed G.N. from his Suburban and began CPR. The Teton County Sheriffs' Office dispatched emergency personnel to the site after receiving a 911 call. Rangers, a state police officer and fire and EMS personnel joined them at the scene. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer]

Haleakalä NP

Visitor Killed In Bicycle Accident

On Wednesday, September 6th, a 73-year-old park visitor from Louisiana died while on a downhill bicycle tour in the park. The man was part of a tour group that had begun its ride at 10,000 feet on the volcano and continued down the mountain for five-and-a-half miles through wind and rain. After successfully negotiating one of dozens of turns, the group entered a straight, wind-protected section. Witnesses said that they saw the man veer to the right, then stop abruptly, at which point he flew over the handlebars and landed about eight to ten feet down the bank from the roadway. A member of the tour company called park dispatch. Rangers and a park medic arrived on scene shortly thereafter and found the man in the shrubbery on the scree slope on the downhill side of the road. He was unresponsive and had no pulse. CPR was begun, an AED was used, and other ALS measures were taken, but he never regained consciousness. An emergency room doctor directed that CPR be terminated after about 45 minutes. Rangers received valuable help from first responder trained park maintenance personnel and visitor use assistants. [Mark Tanaka-Sanders, Chief Ranger]

Natchez Trace Parkway

Bicyclist Seriously Injured In Collision With Vehicle

A 24-year-old Mississippi man was seriously injured in a collision with a car on the evening of September 6th. M.B. was bicycling south on the parkway when he collided with a southbound 2001 Suzuki driven by B.B., 73, of New Orleans, Louisiana. Park staff and local fire and EMS personnel responded. M.B., who suffered significant injuries, was taken by ambulance to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, where his condition was later reported as critical but stable. B.B. was uninjured. An investigation is underway into the cause of the accident. [Jerry Pendleton]

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Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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