A Rock Springs, Wyoming, tow truck operator now hospitalized in Casper is just starting a weekslong recovery after being hit by a pickup truck Wednesday on Interstate 80, causing him to lose a kidney and suffer other internal injuries, his wife says.
Elizabeth Krone is at Banner Wyoming Medical Center with her husband Zack, waiting on future surgeries and next steps as he recovers, she told Cowboy State Daily in a Thursday phone interview.
On Wednesday morning outside Wamsutter, Zack had been offloading lumber from a commercial-truck trailer onto a nearby flatbed trailer as part of a recovery operation from a wreck that had happened the night before. He was working on the road shoulder between the opposite interstate routes.
Zack pivoted from the lumber trailer to start walking toward his truck so that he could retrieve more straps, said Elizabeth.
That was when a red Ford pickup hurtled down a slope, “lost control and smashed my husband between the truck and trailer,” Elizabeth said.
The pickup then bounced away from the collision site, spun about three times and ended up back in the westbound lane. The interstate went from being merely wet to icy in about that area, eyewitness Cody Stevens told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday.
The driver has not been arrested, Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday.
Charges are pending completion of investigation, Wyoming Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Roascio told the outlet in a later text.
The Toll
Medical personnel had to remove Zack Krone’s kidney and part of his intestine. His stomach remains open, and his intestines are not sewn back together yet, Elizabeth Krone said. She anticipates his gut organs will be sewn together Friday morning.
He sustained a gash in his right thigh that will require skin grafts; his right foot is shattered; his right hand and wrist are fractured, she added.
Elizabeth said she anticipates numerous tests, X-rays, CT scans and other treatments to come, plus a lengthy physical therapy regime to follow.
As for Elizabeth, she received a call from her office that morning, which in turn had received a call from someone on scene.
Elizabeth and Zack own Krone Towing together.
She said the community in Rock Springs, as well as tow trucking families and operators from all over the nation, have reached out to her since the wreck.
The pair have family members who are taking care of their children in Utah, and Zack’s brother is going to be holding down the business while Elizabeth stays by her husband, she said.
Wrecker operators have more close calls and scares than they should, said Elizabeth.
“We just ask everyone to slow down and move over for emergency vehicles or stalled out vehicles to avoid any accidents out there,” Elizabeth said. “A lot of these accidents could be prevented.”
Zack’s sister-in-law Nikki Gilbreth has built a GoFundMe page to support his recovery.
It had raised $650 as of Thursday afternoon.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
