Tractor-trailers involved in deadly weekend crashes in Wyoming

A deadly winter storm hit south-central Wyoming over the weekend along Interstate 80. So far, the Wyoming Highway Patrol has reported three deaths as well as “multiple injuries.”

“Weather is reported to be a factor in the crashes.” – Wyoming Highway Patrol

Troopers said they were notified about several crashes near mileposts 181 and 184, about 170 miles west of Cheyenne. Troopers said more than 100 vehicles, including tractor-trailers, were involved in the crashes, which still had the interstate shut down in both directions Monday afternoon.

The crashes happened around 3:40 p.m. MST on Sunday during snowfall and strong winds. That part of the country is notorious for dangerous winter weather, according to many people in the trucking industry. A fair amount of freight moves along I-80 between the Midwest and markets in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California.

The staff at one hospital initially had a hard time keeping up with the number of accident victims coming through its doors. Memorial Hospital of Carbon County in Rawlins told the Casper Star-Tribune that hospital officials set up a temporary patient holding area in a cafeteria as victims kept arriving.