(Wyoming) – Three separate crashes resulting in fatalities were reported by the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) over the Thanksgiving weekend, occurring on November 20th, November 22nd, and November 27th.
The November 20th crash was reported at 4:30 PM, and occurred on I-25/US-87 in Natrona County. The deceased has been identified as 29-year-old Wyoming resident Ethan Huckeba.
The WHP preliminary report indicates Huckeba was northbound on I-25 in an area with a guardrail on both sides of the roadway, when his vehicle departed I-25 to the right, coming in contact with the guardrail on the east side of the roadway. The vehicle veered back across both travel lanes and departed the roadway to the left, crashing into the guardrail on the west side. Huckeba overcorrected and re-entered the road, at which point the vehicle tripped in the roadway and rolled. The vehicle crashed into the guardrail on the east side again, directing it back into the roadway where it came to rest on its wheels.
The report indicates driver fatigue/sleep are possible contributing factors, and that no seat belt was in use.
The November 22nd crash was reported at 6:15 PM, and occurred on WY-59 in Campbell County. The deceased has been identified as 56-year-old Wyoming resident Robert Wagner.
The WHP preliminary report indicates Wagner was northbound on Highway 59 near milepost 65, when his pickup exited the roadway to the right. The vehicle continued into the barrow ditch, and through the right-of-way fence. The vehicle met a large divot in the east pasture, causing the Ford to enter a passenger side leading yaw, at which point it tripped and rolled one and a half times before coming to rest on its roof. The driver was Life Flighted, and later passed away at the hospital due to injuries sustained in the crash.
The report indicates that no seat belt was in use.
The November 27th crash was reported at 7:45 PM, and occurred near milepost 175 in Converse County. The deceased has been identified as 32-year-old Wyoming resident Lindsay Ritter.
The WHP preliminary report indicates Ritter was eastbound towards Glenrock when the vehicle went off the road to the right, at which point she overcorrected to the left and lost control. The sedan slid across both lanes of travel and exited the road surface to the left, then slid down the embankment before tripping and rolling an undetermined number of times. The vehicle then rotated 180 degrees and came to a final rest on its roof, with the driver partially ejected out the passenger side window.
The report indicates that no seat belt was in use, and that a passenger was injured in the crash as well.
To date, there have been 105 fatalities on Wyoming’s roadways in 2021, compared to 119 in 2020, 141 in 2019, and 106 in 2018.