Fatalities on 130

Late Tuesday afternoon, multiple authorities responded to reports of a collision at the intersection of Wyoming Highways 130 and 230, also known as the Snowy Range Turnoff. Deputies from the Carbon County Sheriff's Department, members of the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP), South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical Services (SCWEMS), Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD), Encampment Volunteer Fire Department (EVFD) and Classic Air Medical all responded to the scene of the crash.

According to an initial report from Lt. Kelly Finn with the WHP, a Chevy Silverado heading northbound from Encampment to Saratoga attempted to pass a vehicle pulling a travel trailer. While passing, a Ford F-150 with a couple from Alabama was headed southbound along WYO 130. Eyewitness informed Finn that the Ford took evasive action and drove into the west embankment of the highway. Despite taking this action, however, the Ford and the Chevy collided head-on.

Due to the location of the wreck, and the amount of emergency vehicles, traffic heading north along WYO 230 was diverted by employees of Wyoming Department of Transportation to Cedar Ridge Road off of WYO 130. Traffic heading south on WYO 130, meanwhile, was brought to a standstill as WYDOT and Carbon County Sheriff's Deputies either blocked the road or turned vehicles back around to Saratoga.

At approximately 5 p.m., one of the ambulances departed the scene, carrying the passenger of the Ford. A few minutes later one of two Classic Air Medical helicopters, this one from Rawlins, landed on the asphalt of WYO 130 near the scene of the wreck. Members of SVFD and EVFD began working on extracting the driver of the Silverado, a process that took quite some time due to the damage done to the vehicle.

Around 5:45 p.m., the second helicopter, this one from Steamboat Springs, Colo., landed. By this time, both fire departments had been able to remove the driver from the vehicle and members of SCWEMS began attempting to revive them. Shortly after 6 p.m., however, attempts were continuing with no visible success.

While unable to confirm names, due to being under investigation, Finn was able to confirm that the driver of the Ford died on-scene while the driver of the Chevy was life-flighted to the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colo. but would eventually succumb to their injuries. The status of the passenger of the Ford is not known at this time.