Official release from the Wyoming Highway Patrol

On March 2nd, 2018 a fatal crash occurred at milepost 127 on US 26/89, near Alpine, Wyoming. At 6:14 p.m., Wyoming Highway Patrol Troopers were dispatched to the area for a one-vehicle rollover.

A 1998 Dodge Ram Pickup was traveling southbound on US 26/89 when the driver lost control of his vehicle on the icy road surface. The vehicle crossed the northbound lane, struck the guardrail, and rode up on top of it. The vehicle tipped over the guardrail, dropping 20 feet off a retaining wall to the ground, and rolled approximately 300 ft. down the cliff into the Snake River. The vehicle came to rest on its roof, and the passenger compartment was completely submerged in the water. The driver was trapped inside, and died as a result of the crash.

The driver has been identified as 33-year-old Star Valley Ranch, WY resident Shane Moulton.

Driving too fast for the conditions is being investigated as a contributing factor in the crash.

This crash resulted in the 11th highway fatality in Wyoming for 2018 compared to 10 fatalities in 2017, eight in 2016, and 17 in 2015 during this same time period.

*** Update *** – The man who died in an icy crash Friday night in Snake River canyon has been identified as Shane Moulton, 33, of Star Valley Ranch. According to the Lincoln County Coroner’s Office, Moulton died of blunt force trauma. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

Moulton was driving south on Highway 89 around 6 p.m. when his truck left the roadway, Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Thomas Wilson said. A plow truck driver who witnessed the crash said the truck teetered on the guardrail for a few seconds before plummeting 350 to 400 feet down an 80 percent grade into the Snake River, coming to rest in the water about three feet from the bank.

* Original Story *

U.S. Highway 89 is closed after an accident and weather conditions have caused authorities to shut down both lanes.

The accident is being described as a single vehicle accident in which a truck crashed through the protective guardrails and went into the Snake River.

The reopening of the Snake River Canyon is unknown at this time with traffic being directed to alternate routes.

Initial reports are that the accident currently has one fatality. The incident took place near mile post 127 and involved a response from the Star Valley Search & Rescue, the Teton County Search & Rescue, the Wyoming Highway Patrol, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and EMS services from Alpine Thayne and Alpine.

Up to six inches of new snow is possible in the area and roads are considered slick with snowfall. Authorities have asked that drivers please slow down to compensate for the conditions.