A Casper mother of two was killed Friday night when a wrong-way driver hit the Toyota SUV she was driving, authorities and the woman’s family say.
Mandy Butler, 43, was driving a Toyota SUV the correct direction when a Nissan passenger car driving the wrong direction along the 5300 block of CY Avenue in Casper shortly after 9 p.m. Friday.
That’s according to statement the Casper Police Department released Monday, which doesn’t identify Mandy Butler or her father Randy, and interviews with family members who did.
Casper PD also declined to say which vehicle was the victim vehicle, saying it refrains from identifying victim vehicles until the coroner has identified victims. Mandy's family confirmed she was in the SUV.
Officers arrived that night to find Butler and her father critically injured. They were both taken to Banner Wyoming Medical Center, where Mandy succumbed to her injuries, the statement says.
The driver of the wrong-way vehicle, an adult, was taken to the hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries, the statement says.
Initial evidence showed that the wrong-way vehicle collided head-on with the victim vehicle, says the statement.
“The influence of alcohol is being investigated as a contributing factor,” says the statement.
Waiting For Surgery
Randy Butler is in the intensive care unit in Casper with numerous family members nearby, his son Dude Butler, who is Mandy’s older brother, told Cowboy State Daily on Monday.
Doctors are preparing to fuse Randy’s spine together in at least two places, said Dude.
They’d hoped to do so Monday, but had to deal first with internal bleeding from his shattered femur, the son added.
“They’re going to try to repair that today,” said Dude. “If they can get that taken care of, they’re going to do the back surgery tomorrow.”
Medical professionals often keep Randy unconscious and using a breathing tube, but he has been awake for short stints and has been able to nod and make eye contact with his loved ones, said Dude.
Doctors expect more surgeries, including a later one for Randy’s fractured hip, the son added.
Randy can move his feet and feel his legs, said Dude. “And so the initial spine paralysis could have been much worse,” he noted.
Mandy’s young sons are “insanely saddened” but “surrounded by a village with a lot of love,” said Dude.
He said he didn’t want to speak at length about the crash: “I don’t want to dip into the anger too much — but that’s there.”
Giving Sight To Two People
Gathered in the hospital Monday, the family sent a collective statement about Mandy to Cowboy State Daily via email.
“Mandy was kind, loving, and endlessly forgiving. She was a bright light in every room she entered,” the statement says. “With her big heart and bubbly spirit, she had a gift for making others laugh, even in the hardest of times.
"As a devoted mother to two young boys, they were the center of her world, and she loved them beyond measure.”
To Mandy’s family and friends, the statement continues, she was a source of warmth, joy and comfort — “her mother’s ‘sunshine girl.’
Mandy’s eyes have been donated, giving two people the gift of sight, the statement says.
In that way, “her generous spirit lives on.”
The statement concludes: “Mandy was deeply loved and will be profoundly missed.”
Mandy’s friend Donny Espinoza gave a tearful interview in which he recalled her turning his life around 11 years ago when they both lived in Grand Junction, Colorado.
He’d hit a low point and she took him in, Espinoza said. They were just friends and never intimate, and she helped him get sober and into rehab.
He’s been sober for more than a decade and runs a roofing business, said Espinoza.
“Life 100% changed. And I believe part of that is because of the kindness Mandy showed me throughout the years,” he said.
He added, through tears, “I can’t believe she’s gone.”
Espinoza characterized Mandy’s family as a big, loving, caring network, to him and to others.
Mandy saw the best in people, “she gravitated people,” he said. “I’m going to really miss her — a lot.”
Second Crash
Officers continued their investigation into the night.
At about 2 a.m. Saturday, a Natrona County Sheriff’s Office vehicle ended its pursuit of a reported impaired driver near the intersection of Wyoming boulevard and CY Avenue, the statement says.
The vehicle sped on toward the crash investigation scene and hit an unoccupied Casper Police Department truck, according to the statement and a photograph of the truck.
The driver, a juvenile, sustained serious injuries and was taken to the hospital, the statement adds.
“No officers or bystanders were injured,” it says.
Because of multiple agencies’ involvement in that collision, the Wyoming Highway Patrol is investigating it.
“The Casper Police Department extends our sincere gratitude to the many agencies that assisted during these incidents, including the Casper–Natrona County Public Safety Communications Center, the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office, the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Banner Wyoming Medical Center, and Casper Fire-EMS,” the CPD statement says. “We also wish to express our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased.
"This tragedy is a devastating reminder of the dangers and irreversible consequences of impaired driving.”
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
