18-Year-Old Killed in Crash on Slushy Road North of Cheyenne
The Wyoming Highway Patrol says speed, driver inattention, and cell phone use may be to blame for a three-vehicle crash north of Cheyenne that left an 18-year-old driver dead.
The crash happened around 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, March 12, near milepost 41.2 on U.S. 85, near the south Albin turnoff.
Sgt. Jeremy Beck says Wyatt Butler, of Minatare, Nebraska, was headed north when he began to pass a pickup and semi that were stopped in traffic due to a partial blockage in the road, swerved back to the right to avoid an oncoming vehicle, sideswiped the pickup, spun, and slid into the semi's trailer.
Butler was not wearing his seat belt and died at the scene. No one else was injured in the crash.
Beck says the highway was wet and slushy at the time of the crash.
This is the second fatal crash near milepost 41 on U.S. 85 this year.