5 dead in Wyoming highway crashes caused by wrong-way driver
WYOMING - A series of crashes caused by a wrong-way driver on Interstate 80 killed five people and seriously injured others in south-central Wyoming.
The driver was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired, according to a Wyoming Highway Patrol statement, and may receive future charges as the investigation unfolds.
Highway Patrol troopers received word of the Dodge Ram 3500 headed east in the westbound lanes minutes before the pickup truck collided with a passenger car and commercial truck near Sinclair on Sunday just before 7 p.m.
The driver of another commercial truck then swerved onto the median to avoid the wreck, according to the statement.
The second commercial truck crossed the highway and hit an eastbound Ford F-150 pickup truck head on, engulfing the two trucks in flames.
The second crash killed all five people inside the Ford pickup. Others were taken to hospitals with critical injuries.
The patrol statement did not say how many others were injured or identify anyone involved, including the alleged wrong-way driver.
Sinclair is about 140 miles west of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and 300 miles east of Salt Lake City.
It's the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th fatalities on Wyoming’s roadways in 2023 compared to one in 2022, eight in 2021 and three in 2020.
The Associated Press wire services helped contribute to this report.