Driving semitrailers along Interstate 80 between Laramie and Rawlins is dangerous at any time of year, whether that’s because of snow, wind or other reckless drivers.
When it’s the driver of a loaded commercial truck who’s impaired, it can be even more dangerous.
A driver — later charged with being impaired — and passenger in a truck loaded with potatoes are lucky they survived careening off the interstate and into the Medicine Bow River at 4:03 a.m. Tuesday, said Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken.
"Driving semis on Interstate 80 is a dangerous occupation in and of itself, or it certainly can be," he said. "It's not made any safer when drivers are using controlled substances."
Into The River
The driver, identified as Matthew Berggren, 40, of Idaho, and an unidentified female passenger, were in the truck when their semitrailer crashed while traveling westbound on I-80 at milepost 258 in eastern Carbon County, the Wyoming Highway Patrol reports.
"The truck had gone into the median and was in the river," Aaron Brown, WHP's public information officer, told Cowboy State Daily. "Our troopers arrived and found the truck in the river."
WHP troopers and Carbon County Sheriff's Office deputies extricated Berggren and the passenger from the truck. Berggren wasn’t seriously hurt, while the female passenger was life-flighted to a hospital in Colorado.
At the scene, first responders believed Berggren was under the influence of a controlled substance. He was evaluated at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County in Rawlins and found to have narcotics in his system.
Berggren was arrested for driving under the influence of a controlled substance. He's since appeared in court and is free on bond.
Brown said the female passenger was "in stable condition."
Driver inattention and driving under the influence are being investigated as contributing factors in the incident, he added.
"We're not going to say this is the official cause right now, but they are the leading candidates," Brown said. "DUI is something we take incredibly seriously.
“(Impaired drivers) are a danger to themselves and everyone else on the road in any vehicle — let alone something as large as a semitruck hauling potatoes."
An impaired truck driver was arrested for DUI after his semi full of potatoes veered off I-80 and crashed into the Medicine Bow River on Tuesday morning. Driving semis is dangerous enough on I-80 when people aren’t impaired, the Carbon County sheriff says. (Rawlins News and Chatter) 
An impaired truck driver was arrested for DUI after his semi full of potatoes veered off I-80 and crashed into the Medicine Bow River on Tuesday morning. Driving semis is dangerous enough on I-80 when people aren’t impaired, the Carbon County sheriff says. (Rawlins News and Chatter) 
An impaired truck driver was arrested for DUI after his semi full of potatoes veered off I-80 and crashed into the Medicine Bow River on Tuesday morning. Driving semis is dangerous enough on I-80 when people aren’t impaired, the Carbon County sheriff says. (Rawlins News and Chatter)
An Unfortunate Rarity
Bakken said his deputies respond to semitruck crashes on I-80 fairly regularly. Finding one in a river isn't entirely unheard of, but it is rare.
"We had one that went into the Platte River about two years ago," he said. "Unfortunately, it does happen."
What's more alarming is that Berggren is suspected of being under the influence of narcotics at the time of the incident.
Bakken said it was fortunate that no other drivers were involved in the crash.
Concerning For Everyone
Kevin Hawley, president of the Wyoming Trucking Association, didn't know any specifics on the Tuesday incident, but said the details are "concerning, to say the least."
"If it's true, a trucker driving under the influence would be a pretty serious violation," he said. "Not only for that driver, but for any other CDL holder or passenger vehicle on that interstate."
Hawley drew a parallel to a serious incident in Ontario, California, earlier this week.
Jashanpreet Singh, an Indian national, was arrested after driving a semi that caused an eight-vehicle collision that killed three people.
Singh has been charged with driving under the influence of drugs, causing bodily injury, and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
"It was a horrific accident with a similar situation," Hawley said. "The incident on I-80 sounds pretty scary, especially after what happened in California.
“It should be concerning to the entire trucking industry, the motoring public, and the citizens of Wyoming."
There were no fatalities in the Tuesday morning crash, but there easily could have been.
Berggren and the unidentified passenger were lucky to escape with their lives, but there are no excuses for driving under the influence, officials say.
"You never, ever, want to get behind the wheel while under the influence," Brown said. "It doesn't matter if it's drugs or alcohol.
“We don't want anyone getting behind the wheel of any vehicle while they're under the influence."
Cat Is OK
As if driving under the influence wasn't dangerously reckless enough, WHP troopers learned that a cat had been with the driver and passenger in the truck.
The cat was found — unhurt — by employees with High Altitude Towing who came to get the tractor-trailer out of the Medicine Bow River, the WHP reports.
The cat was taken to the Rawlins Animal Shelter, having exchanged at least one of its nine lives to survive the ordeal.
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
