Winter Storm Jaxon Caused 177 Crashes Over the Weekend, WHP Says
The Wyoming Highway Patrol has released data on the impact of last weekend’s Winter Storm Jaxon on Wyoming’s highways.
According to the WHP, Jaxon had a significant impact on the state, causing many crashes and road closures. A total of 177 crashes occurred throughout the state, 30 of them being commercial vehicles.
The most heavily impacted was Interstate 80. The WHP said on their Facebook page that 65 total crashes were reported on I-80.
Interstate 25 had 32 total crashes. The other 80 crashes were on primary secondary highways throughout Wyoming.
State troopers and dispatchers were kept busy – the WHP says there were 19 separate incidents were troopers were called out in the middle of the night to perform crash investigations. The WHP says the storm also had a dramatic impact on dispatchers at the WHP Communications Center, who fielded 2,576 incoming and outgoing calls specific to Winter Storm Jaxon.
Sgt, Kyle Mckay said that while the winter storm kept the WHP busy, it wasn't anything that they are not trained and prepared for.
“Troopers and dispatchers are continually training,” McKay said. “We know what we signed up for and troopers and dispatchers are ready to accept the challenge.”
Sgt. McKay said there was one fatality over the weekend, however it was not attributed to the storm as the road conditions were dry.
Winter Storm Jaxon began on Saturday, Jan 20 at about 6 p.m. and ended Monday, Jan. 22 at 10 a.m. The storm dumped significant amounts of snow across Wyoming and temporarily closed portions of I-25 and I-80 as well as a number of other secondary highways.