1 Dead, 1 Airlifted After Motorcycle Hits Cow in Wyoming

A Wyoming man was killed and his passenger injured when the motorcycle they were riding hit a cow northwest of Powell early Sunday morning, the highway patrol says.

Sgt. Jeremy Beck says troopers were called to the scene near milepost 17 on Wyoming 294 around 12:20 a.m.

Beck says 45-year-old Russell V. Hiatt and his passenger, 64-year-old Debra M. Martin, both of Powell, were riding south in an area designated as open range when their Harley collided with a cow on the highway.

"The Harley exited the right side of the road before the driver corrected to the left," Beck said in a news release.

"The motorcycle re-entered and exited the highway a second time before stopping at the bottom of an embankment," Beck added.

Hiatt died at the crash scene, and Martin was flown by helicopter to St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, Montana.

Beck says alcohol is being investigated as a possible contributing factor.

This is the 39th fatality on Wyoming's roadways in 2022 compared to 39 in 2021, 39 in 2020, 70 in 2019, and 42 in 2018 to date.