Two family members die in Wyoming accident

Two of ten members of a Mountain Home family in an SUV died outright last week in a collision with a semi truck near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

Aylin Ruiz, 4, and Dolores Ruiz, 56, both of Mountain Home, died at about 12:50 p.m. Thursday when their family's 2006 GMC Yukon Denali, driven by Cutberto Ruiz, 55, hit a patch of ice on the snow-covered Togwotee Pass, between Jackson Hole and Dubois, Wyo. It was snowing at the time and the combination of weather and road conditions caused him to lose control of the vehicle and slide into the oncoming lane, directly in front of a semi tractor-trailer driven by Steven Wilson, 43, of Pierce, Colo., authorities said, adding that neither vehicle was traveling at an excessive speed.

Snowbanks on both sides of the road prevented Wilson from avoiding Ruiz (although he apparently tried to drive into the snowbanks) and the semi hit the driver's side of the SUV, near Delores Ruiz's seat, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

Aylin Ruiz, was ejected from the vehicle during the accident. She and her grandmother, Delores, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Wyoming Highway Patrol officials said it "was clear that no one in the Yukon was wearing a seatbelt."

U.S. Highway 26 between the eastern boundary of Grand Teton National Park and Dubois, Wyo., was closed for nearly six hours while authorities cleared the scene.

Wilson and his passenger, 47-year-old Ferdinand Castillo, of Aurora, Colo., were not injured.

The eight surviving occupants of the Ruiz SUV, all of whom are believed to be related to each other, were transported by ambulance or helicopter to hospitals in Wyoming and Montana. The survivors, who ranged in age from 6 to 55 years old, had injuries that ran from relatively lightly injured to several who were reported to be in critical condition.

Fremont County Coroner Ed McAuslan met early Friday morning with other family members who drove overnight to the county seat of Riverton, according to local newspaper accounts.

McAuslan said the Yukon contained children other than Aylin Ruiz, including some who were transported by ambulance and others who were airlifted from the area due to the severity of their injuries, Riverton's Ranger newspaper reported. He indicated to the Ranger that one of the survivor's injuries appeared to be life threatening.

Dubois fire chief Mike Franchini said most of the people injured were "critical," but that "there were a few walking wounded," he told the Ranger.

Only two survivors were initially identified in regional press reports.

Miguel Martinez, 6, was listed in stable condition at Wyoming Medical Center in Casper.

Samantha Ruiz, 24, who sat in the SUV's front passenger seat, was treated at Riverton Memorial Hospital and released, according to hospital officials.

The current condition of the other members of the family could not be determined with any accuracy by press time.

Several agencies were dispatched to the mass casualty event, including ground ambulances from Fremont and Teton counties in Wyoming, as well as air ambulances from Riverton, Casper, Wyo., and Idaho.

Two fixed-wing aircraft and two helicopters were staged at the Dubois Municipal Airport to shuttle patients to waiting hospitals, the Ranger reported, adding that some survivors went to Lander Regional Hospital or Riverton Memorial Hospital, while others were airlifted to hospitals in Billings, Mont., Casper or Denver.

The Ruiz family was reportedly traveling to South Dakota at the time of the accident.