Winter Weather — Shirley Basin, Wyoming

2020-10-22 · Shirley Basin, Wyoming

Event narrative

Wyoming State Highway Patrol responded around 5:35 PM MDT near milepost 281 along United States Highway 30 and 287 to a two-vehicle accident that claimed the life of an 18-year-old female driver after a vehicle lost control due to excessive speed for the reported icy road conditions crossing the median and hitting a oncoming car head-on. Four other individuals were injured in the crash. The deceased driver was reported to not be wearing a seatbelt. Snowfall and freezing rain were reported in the area with an area CoCoRaHS observer near Rock River measuring around 0.5 of snowfall with 0.03 of liquid precipitation.

The crash claimed the life of Julianna Smith, who was not buckled up. Four others were also reportedly injured in the collision, but the crash report didn't say to what extent.

Wider weather episode

Wyoming Highway Patrol investigated a crash between a dump truck and pickup truck along Interstate 25 west five miles west of Douglas around milepost 145. Around 8:05 PM MDT, a 66-year old male was outside of his pickup truck on the shoulder after sliding off the interstate when a dump truck lost control on the ice and snow-covered roadway and slid off the road into the individual and pickup truck, rolling over on its side with the individual pinned between the vehicles. The 66-year old male died as a result of the crash while the dump truck driver suffered no injuries. A public individual reported 6.0 inches of heavy snowfall a mile south of Douglas. Another unrelated accident occurred earlier in the evening out in Albany County by Rock River where a vehicle lost control on icy roadways crashing into another vehicle resulting in a death of an 18-year-old female and injuring four others.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 920645. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.