A man from Cody was severely injured when the ATV he and his fiancée were riding on slipped and rolled down a mountainside.
It happened on Sheep Mountain, west of Cody, Wyoming on Saturday.
Sydnie Stambaugh and Skylar Peterson were riding the ATV on Sheep Mountain on their way to check a game cam on the mountain when they hit a spot of loose rock. It was under the front end of the ATV, according to the Powell Tribune.
“It was teetering and Skylar told Sydnie to get out,” according to Scot Stambaugh, Sydnie’s father
While Sydnie unbuckled, Skylar opened his door and “stepped out with one foot” in order to see what direction the wheels needed to turn to get off the rock.
That’s when the vehicle began to roll. Sydnie was ejected, but Peterson’s foot got caught between the roll bar and the roof cap.
Sydnie’s father was far away but realized something was wrong and drove a truck to the place where the couple had been. Sydnie was injured, but she was able to run to her grandparents’ home where she called 9-1-1 for help.
Back at the scene, Sydnie’s father Scot, and her grandfather were tending to the badly injured Peterson.
Powell Tribune reports that South Cody Game Warden Grant Gerharter and Robert Lind of the Bureau of Land Management were the first emergency responders on the scene. Monte McClain, the Park County Sheriff’s Office communications officer, said search and rescue, EMS and deputies also responded.
Guardian Flight was dispatched based on Peterson’s reported injuries and after completing another flight to Billings, they responded and extracted Peterson at 7:40 p.m.
“Then Guardian Flight showed up with that crew and those guys were on top of it,” Scot said.
Peterson was flown to a hospital in Billings where he faces multiple surgeries and a long recovery. His injuries include a broken neck and a punctured lung.
Sydnie Stambaugh and Skylar Peterson are both from the Cody area. Stambaugh previously lived in Powell before graduating from Cody High School; she now designs custom cabinets at Bloedorn Lumber in Powell.
Peterson attended Northwest College and now works for a local oil company, according to his Facebook page. Scot called his soon-to-be son-in-law “an avid outdoorsman, hunter, hard-working kid.”
Peterson’s family says the couple has put their wedding plans on hold for now and they deal with his long hospital and rehab stays, a loss of income, high medical bills, and lots of travel since he’s being cared for out-of-state.
Donations can be made to Peterson directly through Big Horn Federal or at gofund.me/5f293592.
