Weather-Linked Crash Kills 2, Closes Interstate 80 for Second Time In Less Than 5 Days

Jess Baker
Published: April 21,2015



 

Parts of Interstate 80 in southern Wyoming reopened Tuesday after a 24-hour-plus closure, after poor weather conditions are blamed for a fiery pileup that killed at least two people on Monday.
This was the second time in five days pileups led to 24-hour long closures along I-80. Bad weather was a factor in both instances.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol confirmed Tuesday that two people died in the crash. In a Facebook post, the police said that 58-year-old Lynn Freeman and 23-year-old Jenay Breden were pronounced dead on the scene. These are likely the only fatalities from the crash.
About 20-25 motorists were taken to a hospital in Wyoming for injuries. The Associated Press reports that of those taken to the hospital, three were admitted and one was transferred to a hospital in Denver, Colorado.
According to the Wyoming Highway Patrol, two commercial vehicles collided 18 miles west of Laramie by mile marker 292. One of the trucks jackknifed in the westbound lanes and more crashes shortly followed. Police say at least 64 vehicles.
It was foggy and slushy at the time of the accident, but the police have not confirmed to what degree drivers speeding contributed to the crash.

Smoke fills the air after a multi-vehicle pileup along I-80 near Laramie, Wyoming, Monday, April 20.
(Wyoming Dept. Transportation)

To make matters worse, a 22,000-gallon tanker caught fire, sending thick black smoke into the air and slowing the cleanup as firefighters struggled to contain the blaze.(MORE: Abrupt Cooldown Grabs East, Great Lakes)
Police urge drivers to check www.wyoroad.info for closure information before trying to drive through.
One arrest has been made from the crash at this time, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol. Alex Dragaytsev, 45, of Longueuil, Quebec, Canada, has been charged with failure to use caution for hazardous conditions.
A 150-mile stretch of the same interstate was closed for more than a day last Thursday and Friday after snow led to a similar crash between more than 30 semi trucks and 12 passenger cars. No one was killed but a dozen people were hospitalized.
MORE: I-80 Closed Again