(Laramie County, WY) – On September 3, around 4:51 AM, Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) troopers were notified of a two vehicle semi trailer crash that occurred at milepost 385.5 on I-80/US-30 which resulted in two fatalities and one injury, according to a preliminary report posted by the WHP on September 6.
The deceased have been identified as 58-year-old Iowa resident Mark Nolte and 29-year-old California resident Dion Hopkins Jr.
According to the report, a tractor-trailer was parked on the north shoulder facing westbound at milepost 385.5 on Interstate 80 with the cab in the lane of travel, and at approximately 4:51 A.M., a second tractor-trailer was westbound on Interstate 80 that struck the first vehicle.
The impact caused both commercial vehicles to catch fire.
Driver inattention, equipment failure, and “other” were listed as possible contributing factors, and the report indicates it is unknown if any parties were wearing seatbelts.
There have been 80 fatalities on Wyoming’s roadways in 2022 compared to 81 in 2021, 86 in 2020, and 110 in 2019 to date.