Teton Pass truck driver crashed, sending electric vehicles into forest

JACKSON (WNE) — A truck hauling a trailer loaded with other vehicles careened off Teton Pass late Monday night, tearing through 100 feet of guardrail before flipping and crashing over a steep hillside, where it caught fire and left the driver injured.

Several Jackson Hole Fire/EMS units responded and doused the truck and surrounding area with 9,000 gallons of water, said Brian Coe, assistant chief of operations for Jackson Hole Fire/EMS.

The Indiana driver, who managed to escape the vehicle before it became engulfed in flames, was airlifted from the scene by Air Idaho to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, Coe said.

The name of the man was unknown as of press deadline.

Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Todd Baxter said the double-cab dually hauling a trailer with three cars, including an electric vehicle — lost control on a curve as it descended the pass. The truck caught fire after the crash and investigators are still working to determine what sparked the blaze.

Baxter said trees in the ravine caught some of the cars before they fell farther down the slope.

Fire crews were especially wary because of the electric car the man was hauling.

The damaged lithium-ion battery of an electric vehicle can enter what firefighters call “thermal runaway,” Coe said. A thermal runaway is a rapid, self-feeding reaction inside a cell that produces more heat, releases flammable gases and can cause other cells to ignite in succession.

Because EVs contain dozens or hundreds of cells, a single failure can cascade quickly, potentially causing delayed flare-ups that ignite long after the initial blaze is tamped down.

Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers suspect the load on the trailer was too heavy for the type of vehicle hauling it, and that overheated brakes may have contributed to the crash and fire.

No other vehicles were involved. The crash remains under investigation.

This story was published on Sept. 17, 2025.