Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

Wyoming News Briefs JULY 2

One killed in wreck near Meeteetse

One killed in wreck near Meeteetse

CODY (WNE) — A 56-year-old woman from Basin was killed and three others hospitalized in a two-vehicle crash Saturday near Meeteetse.

Wyoming Highway Patrol investigating trooper Rich Scovel said all of those hospitalized were in serious condition.

The woman from Basin was declared dead on the scene after she and the driver of the 2001 Subaru Legacy she was a passenger in were ejected. Neither was wearing a seat belt.

Scovel said the Subaru had pulled out onto WYO 120 South from County Road 3LE just after 11 a.m. The driver of the vehicle did not make a complete stop as it turned toward Meeteetse and did not see the F-150 pulling a camper driving north toward Cody.

“The truck driver saw the passenger vehicle and swerved left, and the vehicles impacted in the southbound lane of travel,” Scovel said.

The two occupants of the truck, an 80-year-old female and 87-year-old male, both from Torrington, were wearing their seat belts and stayed in the vehicle as it flipped over and dislodged the trailer.

Scovel said charges are likely and the investigation is ongoing. No names of those involved have been released.

He said the female passenger of the truck was flown by air ambulance to Billings and both drivers were taken to West Park Hospital, with one being transported to Billings afterward.

Scovel praised the Meeteetse Fire Department and county personnel for assistance and in getting one lane reopened on WYO 120 while crews worked to clean the wreckage.

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Investigators finish study of June accident near Boysen

RIVERTON (WNE) — All four people involved in the one-vehicle rollover that killed two 16-year-old boys in June near Boysen Reservoir were ejected in the crash and were not wearing seatbelts, according to a report from Boysen State Park law enforcement supervisor Lt. Christopher Konija.

Carter Hughes and Braedan Black, who was driving the 2004 Ford F350 involved, both died in the incident, which was reported at about 9 p.m. June 1 on Loop 1 of West Shoreline Drive in Boysen State Park.

Black's other passengers were a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, Konija's report states; the girl was transported to SageWest Health Care in Riverton and later to Salt Lake City for treatment of undisclosed injuries, while the boy went to Casper and later Denver for "facial and other injuries."

Officials said alcohol and drugs were not involved.

Witnesses saw the truck "driving at a high rate of speed and swerving" prior to the wreck, Konija said in his report. He corroborated that report through his investigation, which involved studying the tracks the vehicle left behind.

He said the lack of seatbelts contributed to the injuries suffered in the crash; speed for road conditions also was a factor in the incident.

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More than $320,000 distributed to fire victims

PINEDALE (WNE) — The Roosevelt Fire Disaster Recovery Fund has distributed $321,529.56 to date, directly assisting 28 families affected by last year’s fire as well as providing funds for the roads that serve all Hoback Ranches residents.

Donations have come in from across the country, from individuals and groups. Total received to date is $454,881. The Lions of Wyoming Foundation receives and processes all contributions and then forwards them to the Pinedale Lions Club for distribution, which is determined by an eight-person committee made up of community members from Bondurant, Jackson and Pinedale.

To make a donation to help support Roosevelt Fire victims, checks may be made out to the Lions of Wyoming Foundation and sent to 224 Talon Court, Cheyenne, Wyo., 82009. Indicate “Roosevelt Fire” in the memo line. Tax letters will be sent to all donors.

Applications for the next round of funding are due by July 26. This may be the final round of distributions from the fund.

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Child killed in accident at Killpecker Dunes

ROCK SPRINGS (WNE) — A 9-year-old was killed in an all-terrain vehicle accident Saturday.

Around 10:30 p.m., Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to Sweetwater County Road 17, Chilton Road, in the area of Killpecker Sand Dunes.

A 2008 Arctic Cat 550 was traveling south on Chilton Road when, for unknown reasons, it abruptly left the west side of the roadway, went onto the right shoulder embankment and overturned onto its side,

according to a Sheriff’s Office press release.

The four-wheeler’s 9-year-old driver was not wearing a helmet and was ejected from the vehicle. The juvenile was transported by ambulance to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County before succumbing to injuries sustained in the crash.

The release states no further information will be released at this time.