Three ATV crashes in Coeur d’Alene National Forest injure riders, teen critical

Three separate ATV crashes on Forest Service Road 209 near Horsehaven Airstrip turned a night ride in the Coeur d’Alene National Forest into a major rescue operation, leaving one 17-year-old rider critically injured and two others with serious trauma.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said the crashes were reported around 8 p.m. Friday, May 23, 2026, and involved members of the same riding group at different locations along the road. Backcountry deputies reached each scene and found a range of injuries. Two riders suffered multiple broken bones and head injuries. The third crash involved the teenager, who had life-threatening injuries.

Three Life Flight helicopters were sent to the remote area to move the injured riders to Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene. Deputies and medics performed CPR on the 17-year-old and regained a pulse before transport. By the time the incident was reported, two of the injured riders were listed in stable condition, while the teen remained in critical condition.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Team is investigating all three wrecks. The simultaneous nature of the crashes, and the fact that they involved one group on a forest road used heavily for recreation, underscores how quickly a ride in the backcountry can become a multi-patient emergency when several machines are moving through steep, remote terrain with limited access for ground crews.

The sheriff’s office says its Recreation Safety Section provides Marine and Back Country patrols 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and its Back Country Unit is made up of two full-time patrol deputies. The county has also pointed ATV and UTV users toward its annual off-highway vehicle safety meeting, where sheriff’s personnel join Volunteer Search and Rescue, local fire departments, Idaho Fish and Game, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation and the U.S. Forest Service to reinforce safety and route compliance.

The area already has a history of serious off-road incidents. A separate ATV crash at Horsehaven Airstrip in September 2025 killed one person and injured another on Forest Service Road 209, adding to concerns about repeated risk along this corridor.

The U.S. Forest Service describes the Windy Ridge to Horse Haven ATV Trail 802 as a network of dedicated ATV trails and roads open to ATV use, and urges riders to carry both a Visitor Map and a Motor Vehicle Use Map to confirm where motorized travel is allowed. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says the main hazards of off-highway vehicles include overturning, collisions and occupant ejection, and says injuries and deaths remain substantial nationwide, with more than 800 deaths a year on average and about 100,000 emergency-department-treated injuries. Its safety guidance includes wearing helmets and protective gear, avoiding alcohol, staying off paved roads unless permitted and never carrying more passengers than a machine is built for.