JACKSON, Wyo. — An early-morning collision between a pickup truck and a Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) plow truck on Friday, Feb. 16, resulted in one fatality, according to WYDOT.
Shane Copeland, a 31-year-old from Sublette County, was driving a Ford F-550 northbound on U.S. Highway 89 around 3:30 a.m. on Friday when the truck drifted into the southbound lane around milepost 151, a quarter-mile south of Jackson. The plow operator “made an evasive turn trying to avoid the pickup truck, but the two vehicles collided,” according to WYDOT’s press release.
Another WYDOT vehicle was also traveling on US89 at the time and witnessed the collision. Emergency personnel responded to the accident and extricated Copeland from the truck, but he succumbed to his injuries at the crash site.
According to WYDOT’s statement, the plow driver was wearing a seatbelt and suffered minor injuries from the collision. Highway 89 was closed in both directions for two hours following the crash while the scene was investigated and cleared.
“Driver fatigue is being investigated as a contributing factor to the crash,” WYDOT said in a statement.
