Two injured in separate snowmobile accidents on Granite Creek Road Friday
TETON COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) — Teton County Search and Rescue volunteers responded to two simultaneous snowmobile accidents that left two riders with serious injuries on Granite Creek Road this past Friday.
According to a post on TCSAR's Facebook page, the first call came in just before 4 PM, indicating a 39-year-old man had crashed and rolled about 30 feet down an embankment. The man had seriously injured his leg in the crash. Due to the severity of the man's injury, TCSAR mobilized both a helicopter and a ground team to the trailhead.
As teams were on the scene of the first site, preparing the rigging for short-haul, the volunteers received another distress call. A guided snowmobile party reported that a 32-year-old woman had collided with a tree. She had reportedly lost consciousness and was suffering from life-threatening injuries.
The serious nature of the accident forced rescue coordinators to pivot resources in real-time. he TCSAR helicopter paused its initial short-haul rescue to ferry a volunteer to the second crash site. It then looped back to the trailhead to pick up two additional rescuers to assist with the woman's critical condition.
Meanwhile, Jackson Hole Fire/EMS dispatched two ambulances to the trailhead, while TCSAR deployed an additional vehicle and a RZR side-by-side to reach the second patient via the road.
The helicopter then returned to the first scene to take the injured man directly to a waiting ambulance. At the same time, ground teams stabilized the 32-year-old woman and transported her out of the backcountry using the RZR side-by-side. TCSAR says both patients were successfully handed over to Jackson Hole Fire/EMS for further medical treatment.
