A Minnesota man is dead and a young girl hospitalized after a head-on accident Wednesday afternoon in Yellowstone National Park.
42-year-old Dale Payne, Jr., was northbound between Norris and Mammoth Hot Springs about 2 o’clock Wednesday afternoon, when his motorcycle crossed the centerline near the Grizzly Lake Trailhead. Payne’s 2000 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic motorcycle collided head-on with a southbound motor home. The Burtrum, Minnesota man was killed instantly.
A young girl riding who was riding in a sidecar attached to the motorcycle was thrown clear by the impact and was injured. The girl was taken by an Air Idaho Rescue helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, where she was last reported in stable condition.
Investigators are still trying to determine if Payne was wearing a helmet which was found at the scene. The injured girl was wearing a helmet.
This is the second fatal motorcycle accident in the park this summer.