CHEYENNE — A series of fatal crashes in Wyoming has raised the state’s highway death toll to 116, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP).
On Dec. 12, a single-motorcycle crash on Happy Jack Road, approximately 15 miles west of Cheyenne, resulted in the death of 54-year-old Gregg Danny from Cheyenne. His passenger, 37-year-old Colleen Mauch, was airlifted to Cheyenne Regional Hospital. The incident occurred around 7:32 p.m. when the motorcycle failed to navigate a turn, striking multiple wooden posts; neither rider was wearing a helmet. Speed is considered the primary factor.
A separate incident on Dec. 9 in Crook County claimed three lives. The WHP reported a head-on collision on US 212, about four miles south of the Montana/Wyoming border. A 2020 Subaru Forester, attempting to merge into the eastbound lane, collided with a 2015 Subaru Outback. Jonathan Vought, 29, of Rochester, New York, died at the scene, along with the Outback’s occupants, Eugene Cadwell, 73, and Rebecca Cadwell, 52, both from Alzada, Montana. All three individuals were wearing seatbelts.
In a third incident on Dec. 7, 34-year-old Paul Switzer of Saratoga died in a crash on Wyoming Highway 789, 16 miles southeast of Lander. His 2004 Dodge Ram pickup truck left the roadway, hit a guardrail, and subsequently caught fire. The WHP is investigating the cause of the crash and the ignition.
As of this date in 2024, Wyoming had recorded 104 highway deaths, compared to 137 in 2023.