Man Hit and Killed While Retrieving Tire on I-90 in Wyoming

A man is dead after he was hit by a motorhome while retrieving a tire on Interstate 90, the Wyoming Highway Patrol says.

The incident happened around 2:23 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, at milepost 127.2 in Gillette.

Wyoming Highway Patrol

According to a fatality crash summary, 75-year-old Texas resident James Smith was behind the wheel of an eastbound pickup pulling a travel trailer when the left rear wheel came off the axle.

When Smith stopped and got out to retrieve the tire, he reportedly crossed the travel lanes without regard for oncoming traffic and walked into the path of an eastbound motorhome that had merged into the left-hand lane due to his pickup and travel trailer being parked on the right shoulder.

The driver of the motorhome reportedly veered left in an attempt to avoid hitting Smith, but the front right corner of the motorhome hit Smith, killing him.

The driver of the motorhome as well as three others were not injured in the collision.

The summary says it was raining and the interstate was wet at the time of the crash.

Smith is the sixth pedestrian to die on Wyoming's highways so far this year.

2022's Deadliest Wyoming County by Traffic Deaths

While car crashes can occur anywhere, some roads in Wyoming are more dangerous than others.

According to Wyoming Highway Patrol data, there were 117 fatal crashes in the Cowboy State in 2022 resulting in 133 deaths.

Of those fatal crashes, the majority (13.68%) occurred in Laramie County -- two in January, one in February, one in March, two in April, one in June, two in July, three in August, two in September, one in November, and one in December.

Sweetwater County saw the second most fatal crashes last year, 12, while Fremont and Lincoln counties each saw 10.

Albany and Park counties each recorded eight, and Campbell, Converse, and Natrona counties each tallied seven.

The deadliest 2022 crash in Laramie County took place on June 17 when two semis collided on Interstate 80 east of Cheyenne and immediately became engulfed in flames killing both drivers and a passenger.

Laramie County also saw two fatal crashes involving motorcyclists, two fatal crashes involving juveniles, and a fatal crash involving a pedestrian last year.

Below is the Wyoming Highway Patrol narrative of every fatal crash that occurred in Laramie County in 2022.