Every so often, usually in winter, Wyoming’s Highway to Heaven turns into a Highway to Hell.
Interstate 80, which crosses the entire lower tier of the state, has had photos featuring an area called the Sisters (north of Kemmerer) which appear to show the highway ascending into the clouds – hence the Highway to Heaven reference.
At certain times in the winter, this road’s personality does a 180-degree turn. It truly becomes hell on earth.
On Valentine’s Day this year, Feb. 14, that happened when 26 cars and trucks crashed into each other in Interstate 80’s westbound tunnel at the city of Green River.
Three people were killed and a number of others injured as an eerie scene developed. It was a clear and cold sunny day but treacherous ice appeared to be stalking vehicles on that roadway. The scene was stark as deadly black smoke billowed out from the tunnel’s entrances for hours.
This was the ninth major winter monster of this type that have occurred on Interstate 80 this century but this one was unique because the event involved a tunnel.
Two Young Wyoming Men Died
There are always fatalities in these events but the names are folks from far-away states like Illinois or Ohio. Not this time. We lost two young from Rawlins who were in their prime.
Quentin Romero and Chris Johnson ages 22 and 20 both worked at the Sinclair Refinery near Rawlins and graduated from Rawlins High School.
Both were standouts in sports and according to their obituaries were beloved by their friends and family.
Their vehicle was among the first involved in the wreck and they were apparently killed immediately. Both men were avid hunters and their obits included stories about them killing their first elk.
It is not known at this time if they were traveling on business during this trip or just headed some place for a weekend trip. Their loss is a loss to all of us in Wyoming.
A Huge Disruption
Interstate 80 has become, in many ways, a national railroad featuring thousands of giant semi-trailer trucks hauling goods from one end of the country to the other.
This bottleneck that occurred in Green River will hold back traffic for miles and miles. It will slow down the delivery of goods that need to be dropped off on schedule.
An estimated 18,000 vehicles a day were traveling down Interstate 80 at the time of this disaster. Trucks and cars were backed up almost to Rawlins by this stoppage.
Have you ever been caught in one of these endless delays?
A few years ago, we came upon a multiple-truck accident on Interstate 40 near Gallop, NM. Lucky for us it was in the other lane.
For the next 20 miles, I counted traffic completely stopped in the other lane. It was stunning. That Feb. 14 accident in Green River probably caused a similar effect or even much worse.
I know the town of Green River, having been a part-owner of their newspaper back in 1975. They have a nice little Main Street that is the old highway 30. It is a nice two-lane road.
Well with this accident, all those semi-trailer trucks were re-routed down that Main Street as they tried to get back on the road west of the town. That poor street took an unbelievable pounding from those 80,000-pound behemoths until the Department of Transportation was able to re-route all the traffic through the Eastbound tunnel.
This bottleneck will continue to stack up traffic for probably 20 miles in both directions it could be predicted.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation but something really, really hot was set ablaze by the collisions. Reportedly there were patches of ice just outside of the tunnel entrances.
A Time For Heroes
We know there was a hero in there named Ray Norton. He helped his own family get out and then helped several others. We are sure proud to have folks like that in our midst.
Back in February, 2022, another Green River man, Ryan Pasborg, rescued a mother and her son from a burning house.
It appears that Green River has become a home for heroes.
During my experience with that town, I felt it was full of wonderful folks.
Other Interstate 80 Crashes
These huge winter crashes happen occasionally on Interstate 80.
In 2020, there were three big crashes. On January 31, 2020, there was a 25-car pileup near the Vedauwoo Exit between Laramie and Cheyenne and another on March 20 in the same stretch. Both resulted in multiple injuries.
An even larger crash occurred between Rawlins and Wamsutter on March 1, 2020. The series of crashes totaled nearly 100 vehicles and led to three fatalities and dozens injured. This pileup was caught on video.
Back in April, 2015, some 64 vehicles were involved in a foggy-snowy mess near Quealy Dome 20 miles west of Laramie. Two people were killed and 16 injured.
On April 16, 2015, there was a 70-vehicle crash near Harriman between Laramie and Cheyenne. Fortunately, there were no deaths.
On March 26, 2006, there was a 22-vehicle crash near Arlington in Laramie and Rawlins. Six people died in this event.
On April 3, 2014, there was a 54-vehicle crash near Elk Mountain that saw no deaths.
On Aug. 19, 2004, seven people were killed and 29 injured in a combination wreck due to fog near Buford between Laramie and Cheyenne.
