Wyatt Coiteux, 21, was riding a snowmobile in Montana when he was knocked off his sled by an avalanche
A 21-year-old from La Center died Saturday in an avalanche outside Cooke City, Mont.
Wyatt Oden Coiteux, an avid motorsports enthusiast and advanced race car driver, was snowmobiling with his younger brother Bryce when an avalanche was triggered. Wyatt was knocked off his sled and buried under the avalanche.
Search and rescue found Wyatt within an hour. Revival attempts were unsuccessful. His airbag pack was not deployed, according to the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center.
The eldest son of local retired racer Sean Coiteux and business owner Tracy Coiteux, Wyatt grew up as his dad’s right-hand man. The family owned and operated snowmobile, motorcycle, motorsports, and specialized mechanic businesses throughout the Northwest.
Recently, the Coiteux name is synonymous with the boutique custom mechanic work operated out of Ridgefield, and the Great American Stockcar Series, for whom Wyatt was an active board member and racer.
In high school, Wyatt split time between La Center High School and Cascadia Tech in Vancouver, where he excelled in all things mechanical.
Wyatt was dedicated to his family and his partner Erika Hopmann. He volunteered with The Goodtime Project, a program run at Shelton’s Ridge Raceway that allows families impacted by pediatric cancer diagnosis to experience a day of race car fun. Wyatt was a regular at those events.
Wyatt rode snowmobiles, motocross bikes, and jet skis with his family since his infancy. The family describe their final rides together as “perfect” and “epic.”
The family posted a message on Facebook as well:
“We are devastated by the passing of our beloved son Wyatt Coiteux while snowmobiling. He went out on cloud 9 doing what he loved!”
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