2 Dead, 1 Injured After Semi Goes Off I-80 in Wyo., Hits Drivers

Two people died and another was injured early Monday morning after a semi collided with a tow truck recovering a car from a previous slide-off on Interstate 80, the Wyoming Highway Patrol says.

It happened around 3:10 a.m. near mile marker 184, about 11 miles east of Wamsutter.

Wyoming Highway Patrol

Get our free mobile app

Sgt. Jeremy Beck says 41-year-old Houston, Texas resident Edgar F. Echeverria was headed west when he lost control of his semi, overturned it, and went into the median, striking the driver of the tow truck, 45-year-old Wamsutter resident Kirby Lugg, and the driver of the car, who were out of their vehicles.

Echeverria was not wearing his seat belt and died in the crash.

Lugg and the driver of the car were taken to Memorial Hospital of Carbon County in Rawlins, where Lugg died from his injuries.

Beck says speeding too fast for road conditions on the part of Echeverria is being investigated as a possible contributing factor.

Echeverria and Lugg are the 33rd and 34th reported people to die on Wyoming's highways in 2023 compared to 18 in 2022, 23 in 2021, 14 in 2020, and 35 in 2019 to date.

READ MORE:

Pedestrian Dead After Being Hit by Semi on I-80 in Wyoming

2022's Deadliest Wyoming County by Traffic Deaths

While car crashes can occur anywhere, some roads in Wyoming are more dangerous than others.

According to Wyoming Highway Patrol data, there were 117 fatal crashes in the Cowboy State in 2022 resulting in 133 deaths.

Of those fatal crashes, the majority (13.68%) occurred in Laramie County -- two in January, one in February, one in March, two in April, one in June, two in July, three in August, two in September, one in November, and one in December.

Sweetwater County saw the second most fatal crashes last year, 12, while Fremont and Lincoln counties each saw 10.

Albany and Park counties each recorded eight, and Campbell, Converse, and Natrona counties each tallied seven.

The deadliest 2022 crash in Laramie County took place on June 17 when two semis collided on Interstate 80 east of Cheyenne and immediately became engulfed in flames killing both drivers and a passenger.

Laramie County also saw two fatal crashes involving motorcyclists, two fatal crashes involving juveniles, and a fatal crash involving a pedestrian last year.

Below is the Wyoming Highway Patrol narrative of every fatal crash that occurred in Laramie County in 2022.

Source: 2 Dead, 1 Injured After Semi Goes Off I-80 in Wyoming, Hits Drivers

Categories: News, Wyoming News