Motorcycle Hits Moose on Pass
The moose was killed in the crash.
By Martin Reed - Jackson Hole Daily
Thursday September 29, 2005
A Victor, Idaho, man was hospitalized Wednesday after he crashed into a moose while riding his motorcycle on Teton Pass.
Bert Smith, 62, hit the adult cow moose at about 6:50 a.m. while heading eastbound on Highway 22 just west of the Coal Creek parking lot, said Lt. Tom Kelly of the Wyoming Highway Patrol.
He was transported to St. John's Medical Center, and a hospital spokeswoman said he was listed in fair condition in the intensive care unit Wednesday afternoon.
Smith, a Teton County sheriff's deputy who works at Jackson Hole Airport, suffered some broken bones in the crash, sheriff's Capt. Jim Whalen said.
The crash followed Sunday's wreck involving two Jackson motorcyclists in north Lincoln County. Alan Buss, 49, died in the crash, and Steve Johannes, 43, was seriously hurt.
Johannes was listed in critical condition, worsened by one level from the previous day, at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, a hospital spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Kelly said he had not been able to interview Smith, but based on witness statements and evidence at the scene the motorcyclist was driving a 1983 Honda Goldwing when he broadsided the moose.
"He was driving down the highway and either the moose stepped in front of him or he didn't see it and he collided with the moose and veered into the guardrail," Kelly said.
Smith, who was wearing a helmet, likely was ejected at some point from the motorcycle, which remained standing upright against the guardrail after the collision.
The moose was killed in the crash. "She'd walked off into the trees and laid down to die," Kelly said.
There were no skid marks from the motorcycle before the collision, Kelly said, adding he was unsure how fast Smith was driving.
"They are difficult to see in the dark," he said of moose. Road conditions were clear at the time of the crash.
