BOISE, Idaho — (AP) — A pickup truck collided with a tour van carrying a number of foreign travelers on a highway leading to Yellowstone National Park, leaving seven people dead and eight others injured, Idaho State Police said.
The crash happened just before 7:15 p.m. Thursday on U.S. Highway 20 near Henry’s Lake State Park in eastern Idaho, police said in a news release. The state park is roughly 16 miles (26 kilometers) west of Yellowstone National Park.
Police have not said what exactly caused the wreck, but the Dodge Ram truck was traveling west while the Mercedes van was traveling east toward Yellowstone when it happened. Video from the scene showed clear weather conditions at the time.
Both vehicles caught fire, police said. The driver of the pickup and six people inside the Mercedes passenger van died. The truck driver was identified Friday as Isaih Moreno, 25, of Humble, Texas. Identifying the others will take some time, according to police.
Fremont County coroner, Brenda Dye, told The New York Times that she was waiting for DNA test results to identify the six others because the bodies were unrecognizable. She said all six were from outside the U.S. Two were from Italy.
China's Consulate General in San Francisco said that five Chinese citizens were killed in the accident and another eight were injured.
“The consulate expressed deep condolences for the dead and sincere sympathy to the injured and the families of those affected,” according to the official Xinhua news agency. It was in contact with the family members and providing support, it said.
It was not immediately clear why there was a discrepancy between the figures given by Chinese officials and the Fremont County coroner.
The van was carrying a tour group of 14 people, and the surviving occupants were taken to hospitals with injuries, police spokesperson Aaron Snell said.
Two were flown to an Idaho Falls hospital and one was flown to a Bozeman, Montana, hospital, according to police. Their conditions were not released. The others were taken to area hospitals with injuries believed to be non-life-threatening, police said.
The crash remains under investigation.
Roger Merrill, 60, was driving home when he saw flames engulfing the two vehicles as bystanders tried to care for survivors from the van on the side of the highway. Merrill said he often sees tourist vans on the highway.
“It is a very dangerous highway because it leads to the main entrance of Yellowstone National Park,” he said. “It’s extremely busy.”
Merrill captured video of the wreckage with smoke blanketing the van. Due to the remote location, Merrill said he anxiously awaited the help of first responders.
“It took an unnervingly long time for help to arrive just because of the location,” he said.
Police said Friday that a Fremont County sheriff’s deputy arrived shortly after the crash and, with the help of bystanders, immediately helped injured van occupants as it caught fire.
The state is working with local officials to get “answers on what led to this terrible tragedy,” Idaho Gov. Brad Little said in a social media post.
The Idaho Transportation Department had identified the highway for safety improvements aimed at reducing the severity of crashes, but the project was still in the research and planning phase. An average of about 10,500 vehicles traveled that portion of the highway daily in 2023, according to the agency.
___ Dupuy reported from New York City. Associated Press reporter Lisa Baumann contributed to this story from Bellingham, Washington.
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