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On Monday, August 14, a fatal car crash in Laramie County led to the death of 25-year-old Burns resident Brooke Howard. According to KGAB, Howard died at the scene of the crash after a pickup truck collided with her 2014 Chevrolet Silverado. The car crash currently remains under investigation by local authorities.
As reported by Laramie authorities, the pickup truck's driver has been identified as Kelsey Baumgartner, a 37-year-old from Cheyenne. Officials are investigating the possibility that one of the drivers may have been inattentive due to fatigue. They have not revealed whether any charges will be filed in relation to the death of Brooke Howard.
Brooke Howard's vehicle was parked when a pickup trailer hit her
As per Newsbreak, the incident occurred at approximately 3.30 pm on Northbound Interstate 25. According to a news release from the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Brooke Howard was parked in her broken-down car on a highway south of Douglas.
Howard was reportedly in an emergency lane with a livestock trailer attached to her Chevrolet Silverado. Kelsey Baumgartner, who was in a 2018 Dodge 3500 pickup truck with a livestock trailer, reportedly collided with Howard's stationary vehicle at high speed.
At 3.39 pm, troopers were dispatched to the scene of the crash. While they confirmed that three people had been injured, they did not release the names of these individuals. As noted by the fatality crash summary, this is the third death along the I-25 between Chugwater and Douglas in August. Overall, Brooke Howard's death was the 89th traffic fatality in Wyoming in 2023.
Wyoming car crash statistics
According to Cowboy State Daily, Wyoming highways experience the highest traffic fatalities per 100,000 people. While the nationwide average in 2020 was 11.7 deaths per 100,000, in Wyoming, the average was almost double that, standing at 22. As per certain studies, the State was only second to Mississippi, which experienced 25.4 traffic fatalities per 100,000.
According to Jordan Achs, a Department of Wyoming spokesperson, the numbers may also look this way due to the low population density in the State.
“We have a low population to begin with, and we also get a lot of ‘pass-through’ traffic from residents of other states because of the three Interstate highways (I-80, I-90 and I-25)," Achs explained.
"It can be easy for us to jump to the bottom or the top of those statistics because of our small population and the sheer amount of miles that Wyomingites drive, including long commutes to work for many of us," he added.
Besides Wyoming, Montana and Idaho were notable for having a high percentage of fatal crashes. The study also reported that most crashes in States such as Wyoming occur on rural highways rather than cities.
