(Statewide) – Three more fatal crashes were reported by the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) this week, occurring on 1/23, 1/24 and 1/25, according to preliminary reports from the WHP.
The crashes resulted in three deaths and five injuries total.
The 1/23 crash occurred on S Douglas Highway in Campbell County, involved four vehicles, and resulted in the death of 32-year-old Wyoming resident Laura Kenway, as well as three injuries.
According to that report, a truck was southbound on HWY 59 near mile marker 109, when the driver lost control of the vehicle. It then crossed several travel lanes colliding with a second northbound truck pickup in a T-bone fashion. The first truck, still in the northbound lane, was immediately stuck on the right rear corner by a northbound SUV, sending it spinning, and was then struck by a second SUV.
The report did not indicate which truck Kenway occupied.
Speed and driver inattention were listed as possible contributing factors, with icy and snowy road conditions, and the report indicates Kenway was not wearing a seatbelt.
The 1/24 crash occurred on I-80 / US 30 in Sweetwater County, involved two vehicles, and resulted in the death of 54-year-old Illinois resident Rafael Cervantes, as well as two injuries.
According to the report, Cervantes was in a pickup truck westbound on Interstate 80 when he lost control and slid onto the north shoulder of the road. Cervantes over-corrected back onto the roadway, but jackknifed before exiting the roadway into the median, where he then continued across the median and into oncoming traffic. A combination unit did not have time to stop and struck the truck on the rear passenger side.
Driver fatigue, possible medical condition and speed were all listed as possible contributing factors, with blowing snow and icy road conditions, and the report indicates Cervantes was not wearing a seatbelt.
The 1/25 crash occurred on US 18 / US 30 in Niobrara County, involved two vehicles, and resulted in 31-year-old Wyoming resident Austin Judy.
According to the report, Judy’s car was stuck in the snow off the roadway in a nearby ditch, when another vehicle attempted to pull him back onto the roadway. A semi was eastbound on US 18-20 when it encountered Judy’s car and the tow vehicle. The semi-driver attempted to navigate around the vehicles and lost control on the ice, when it then struck the car in a t-bone fashion, and pushed it several hundred yards before coming to an uncontrolled rest in the ditch. Judy was outside the vehicle at the time of the crash and was struck by the semi.
No possible contributing factors were given, but roads were listed as icy and snowy, with blizzard weather conditions.
These fatal crashes join two others reported this week, one resulting in two deaths, the other resulting in 5.
There have been 15 total fatalities on Wyoming’s roadways in 2023, compared to 2 in 2022, 8 in 2021, and 3 in 2020, to date.