Investigation complete for highway crash

Wyoming Highway Patrol has completed an investigation into a traffic accident that took place on December 30 on Highway 24 in the vicinity of milepost 18.

“The cause of the crash was not maintaining a lane of travel,” says Lieutenant Tim Boumeester.

The incident involved a Dodge pickup that was traveling eastbound on the highway.

“It had just passed a log truck when the driver encountered icy roads, approximately 1900 feet in length to where the crash occurred,” he reports.

“The driver of the Dodge pickup lost control of her vehicle and began to rotate clockwise with the driver’s side beginning to slide into the westbound lane.”

A half-ton Chevy pickup pulling an 18-foot flatbed trailer was traveling westbound and encountered the Dodge pickup in its lane. It struck the driver’s side of the pickup, causing the Dodge to rotate counterclockwise and come to an uncontrolled rest in the roadway facing northeast.

“After initial impact, the Chevy pickup and trailer jackknifed and came to an uncontrolled rest in the westbound lane, facing south,” says Boumeester.

A total of four people were involved in the crash, two in each vehicle. LifeFlight airlifted the driver of the Chevy pickup to Rapid City, where he was treated for serious injuries.

“There were serious injuries for both drivers, but no fatalities,” Boumeester confirms.

The crash occurred at around 12:05 p.m. Due to total road blockage, the highway remained closed at the scene until around 4 p.m., when clean-up was complete.

The occupants of the Dodge pickup were juveniles local to Hulett, while the driver of the Chevy was from Spearfish and the passenger was from Lead.