On Thursday, July 11, at about 10:40 a.m., a car with five occupants inadvertently drove off the roadway and into the Semi-Centennial Geyser thermal feature near Roaring Mountain between Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris Junction in Yellowstone National Park.
All five occupants exited the vehicle on their own, the park said in a statement, and each individual was transported via ambulance to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Today, July 12, law enforcement rangers temporarily closed both lanes of the roadway near the accident in order to safely lift the car out of the thermal feature.
The vehicle was fully submerged in about nine feet of water.
One of numerous thermal features in Yellowstone National Park, the Semi-Centennial Geyser thermal feature has acidic and hot surface water temperatures (ranging around 105 degrees Fahrenheit).
After being closed for about two hours, the roadway reopened.
Yellowstone National Park would like to thank Hanser’s Automotive; US Water Rescue Dive Team; HK, Contractors; Resource Technologies Incorporated and Yellowstone Park Service Stations for their collective expertise and professionalism in removing the car from the thermal feature in such an expeditious manner.
This incident is under investigation and the park has no additional details to provide at this time.