Rangers, Jackson Hole fire and EMS personnel and a Teton interagency fire engine crew responded to the scene of a single vehicle accident involving a seriously injured driver on the afternoon of Sunday, July 29th. As a result of injuries received in the accident, Larry Dare, 68, a seasonal employee of Grand Teton Lodge Company, later died at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. Dare was driving a company vehicle southbound on Teton Park Road about a quarter mile north of the Spalding Bay access road when for unknown reasons he veered across the northbound lane of traffic, narrowly missed an oncoming vehicle, and landed at the bottom of a steep road embankment. Dare was tightly pinned inside the cab of the truck as it came to rest, crushed against several pine trees. The truck also broke off three large pine trees as it slid down the embankment. Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received a 911 call at 3 p.m. from the motorist who narrowly missed hitting Dare’s vehicle as it crossed the center line. Dare was so completely pinned inside the cab of the truck that it took about two hours to release him from the vehicle. Teton interagency fire personnel removed several trees to assist in the extrication operation, and the extrication team used the “jaws of life” to remove the truck’s dashboard before Dare could be safely released from the vehicle. Dare was given emergency medical care during the entire operation. Although the vehicle’s air bags deployed, Dare, who was not wearing a seatbelt, received traumatic injuries in the accident. Dare was flown directly from the scene by a life flight helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for treatment. Rangers established a landing zone for the helicopter on the closed portion of the Teton Park Road. While emergency personnel worked to extricate Dare from the pick-up, the Teton Park Road was closed to all traffic for approximately three hours from the Spalding Bay access road to a point just south of the Mount Moran scenic turnout. The mutual aid response to this accident involved the expertise and coordination of multiple agencies and emergency personnel from Grand Teton National Park, Teton County, and Teton interagency fire. Local agencies cross train with one another in order to be better prepared for responding to incidents such as this single vehicle accident. That training proved invaluable to this incident.
