Ten Sleep man dies in snowmobile crash

JACKSON (AP) — A Ten Sleep man has died in a snowmobile crash near Togwotee Pass in northwestern Wyoming.

Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Andy Jackson said Gerald E. Walters of Ten Sleep went off a snowbank on Sunday afternoon at 2:20 p.m. and landed on US Highway 26 about 6 miles east of Togwotee Mountain Lodge, 22 miles east Moran Junction.

Walters was snowmobiling with a group of family and friends, Jackson said.

Walters was operating a 2007 Polaris RMK600 snowmobile in the snow flats on top of Togwotee Pass. Based on evidence on scene, Walters did not realize the highway was approaching and drove off the 10-foot snow embankment onto the highway. Walters was thrown from the snowmobile and sustained fatal injuries upon landing on the highway despite his helmet use.   

Jackson said Walters was traveling about 30 mph.

Walters’ unfamiliarity with the area is being investigated as the contributing factor in this crash. Jackson said there is a slight uphill grade leading up to the edge of the snowbank. “I believe he just had no idea there was a drop off. From his viewpoint it may have looked like it was just a flat across there. With record-setting snow this year, the banks are 10-foot high and the snow markers are covered.

The crash marked the 14th highway fatality in Wyoming for 2017. Jackson said since the crash ended on a Wyoming highway it is being considered a highway fatality. There were 10 fatalities during this same time period in 2016.