Wyoming Driver Dies After Pickup Rolls Down 300-Foot Cliff Into River
A Wyoming resident died Friday evening near Alpine after their pickup truck went over a guardrail and rolled down a cliff into the Snake River, trapping the driver beneath the water.
Shane Moulton, 33, was the only person inside the vehicle, and was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash, according to a crash report from the Wyoming Highway Patrol.
The Patrol says Moulton was southbound in a pickup truck on Highway 89, which covered with ice and snow, at 6:14 p.m. Friday. Near milepost 127, as snow continued to fall, Moulton lost control of the pickup, and the vehicle started to rotate counterclockwise.
The pickup crossed the northbound lane, hit a guardrail and rode up on top of it. The vehicle then tipped over the guardrail, dropped 20 feet off a retaining wall to the ground, and then rolled some 300 feet down a cliff into the Snake River.
The pickup came to rest on its roof in the river. The cab was completely submerged in the water, and Moulton was trapped inside.
According to the report, the pickup may have been traveling too fast for conditions before the crash, and that speed is being investigated as the cause of the crash.