March 16 Wyoming Briefs

Woman charged in crash that killed teen

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A woman has been charged in the death of a local teenager after she allegedly hit him with her vehicle while he was in a crosswalk.

Kelly Lynn Gaskins is charged with one count of vehicular homicide, a misdemeanor. She is accused of causing the death of 13-year-old Makaili James Evans by driving her vehicle in a “criminally negligent manner.”

Gaskins will have an initial appearance in circuit court at 9 a.m. March 22.

Vehicular homicide carries a maximum penalty of one year of incarceration and/or a $2,000 fine.

Evans was killed Nov. 5 at about 7 a.m. after Gaskins struck him with her vehicle near McCormick Junior High School, a probable cause affidavit said. Gaskins said she had not seen Evans as he was crossing the street, as it was dark and she was looking at and talking to her passenger at the time of the collision, according to the affidavit.

Evans had been legally crossing Western Hills Boulevard at a marked, lighted crosswalk coated in white reflective paint, documents say. Three vehicles driving westbound on the street were stopped for the teen and waiting for him to cross. Gaskins’ front passenger, a teenager, had also seen Evans and yelled at Gaskins that a child was in the crosswalk, the affidavit said.

“Gaskins never slowed down or attempted to evade the collision with (Evans),” the affidavit said.

A toxicology report returned in mid-December showed Gaskins had benzodiazepines in her system. She told officers on the day of the collision that she took the medication daily, the affidavit said. The report showed Gaskins did not have any other substances in her system at the time of the crash.

This story was published on March 16, 2022.

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Local church raises money for Ukraine with Ukrainian food

GILLETTE (WNE) – Anyone headed into the Gillette Walmart from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday surely smelled the aroma of hearty Ukrainian food.

That was the goal of the Gillette Foursquare Church members, who will be sending all of the money raised by selling the food to help the crisis in Ukraine.

The church sold staple Ukrainian foods: Varényky, borscht and dense Ukrainian bread.

The money raised through the church will be directly wired to a church in Ukraine that has been helping Ukrainian refugees fleeing their homes.

Located in Berdychiv about 30 minutes from Zhytomyr and on the main road out of the country, the church has its entire basement filled with mattresses for a place of rest. It has now expanded to use space in the sanctuary.

It also prepares food for all of the refugees, the number of whom has recently increased to more than a hundred every day.

Nataliya Brian of Gillette, who grew up in Ukraine and lived there up until 20 years ago, found out about the church’s crisis because it was her home church. Her father was the pastor there when she was a child.

Brian knew she needed to help when she heard the church was running out of money for groceries, said Regan Pickrel, senior pastor of the Gillette Foursquare Church.

The church jumped on board and has a spot on its website for people to donate money. The church is also arranging a gun raffle.

Brian taught a large group of church members over several days how to create the different foods that were sold at the Walmart.

This story was published on March 15, 2022.

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Settlement reached in case of WYDOT worker killed by street sweeper

JACKSON (WNE) — A settlement has been reached in the case of a WYDOT employee killed by a street sweeper.

Shirley Samuelson died in August 2020 when a street sweeper she had just parked on Highway 22 in Teton County rolled downhill and ran over her. She was 62, and the only female member of WYDOT’s maintenance crew in the southwest Wyoming district.

Federal court filings state that Samuelson’s son, Gregory Horrocks, reached a settlement in late February with the sweeper’s manufacturer, Kansas-based SB Manufacturing, Inc. Details are unknown.

“This was a horrible tragedy that was preventable. Many of our questions were answered. Settlement of this litigation is in the best interests of all the parties and will help bring closure to Shirley’s family,” said the family’s attorney, Jack Edwards, in an email. “We hope that through this process, all Wyoming workers will benefit from stronger safety measures and safer machines.”

Horrocks brought the wrongful death suit in April 2021, alleging an equipment failure led to his mother’s death.

According to the complaint, Samuelson parked the sweeper on a Teton Pass turnout and pulled the parking brake. She then turned off the engine and got out to talk to a coworker. Court filings state that while her back was turned, the sweeper began rolling downhill and ran over her before crossing both lanes of the highway and stopping at a cliff face on the other side.

The suit alleged the 2009 broom sweeper made by Superior Broom had defects that caused it to fail from normal use.

According to the manufacturer, the driver should have been aware of the “open and obvious risk” that caused the accident, and that it stopped being liable when the sweeper was purchased.

This story was posted on March 16, 2022.