A Utah husband and wife who say another semi slammed into the back of their truck during a bitterly cold winter day near Cheyenne nearly four years ago are taking one of the nation’s large trucking companies to federal court.
Barbara Williams, 52, and Brian Williams, 40, sued New Prime Inc. and truck driver Lubrun Sylvestre on Monday in U.S. District Court for Wyoming, alleging Sylvestre failed to slow down before crashing into their semi on Interstate 80.
The civil cover sheet accompanying the lawsuit lists a $5 million demand.
The complaint says the crash happened Jan. 30, 2023, as the Williamses were driving a semitrailer east on I-80 and took the exit at milepost 367 in Laramie County.
They stopped at the stop sign at the end of the exit, the lawsuit says.
Sylvestre, who was driving another semi eastbound behind them for New Prime, took the same exit, but as he approached the Williamses’ stopped truck, the lawsuit alleges he didn’t slow down enough.
He crashed into the rear of their trailer.
The Williamses accuse Sylvestre of not only driving too fast for conditions, but also failing to keep his truck under control, failing to properly slow down, failing to obey traffic signs and failing to maintain a proper lookout.
Bitter Cold, Snow And Fog
National Weather Service climate records show the temperature at Cheyenne Regional Airport never made it out of the single digits on that day.
The high was 4 degrees, while the temperature dropped to minus 8. The day's average temperature was minus 2 — 31 degrees colder than normal.
Light snow, fog and haze were also observed in Cheyenne that day. Nearly an inch of new snow fell, and 7 inches of snow were already on the ground.
The collision came at the tail end of a treacherous stretch on Interstate 80. Two days earlier, 44 vehicles were involved in two pileups between Elk Mountain and Laramie that killed one person and injured others.
Portions of I-80 remained closed into Jan. 30, when WYDOT began reopening the interstate under controlled conditions, with Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers escorting eastbound traffic out of Rawlins.
"The Wyoming Highway Patrol has been responding to numerous calls for service across the state,” the agency reported on Jan. 31, 2023. "As such, the Wyoming Highway Patrol Dispatch has been very busy fielding these calls and dispatching emergency crews to different locations throughout the state."
The lawsuit does not state whether the pavement at the crash site was icy or snow-covered, and it does not specify what weather or road conditions Sylvestre encountered as he came down the exit.
It does, however, specifically allege he was traveling too fast for the conditions and failed to slow his semi before hitting the Williamses.
Multiple Surgeries
The Williamses say the collision left both of them seriously injured.
Barbara Williams was taken from the crash to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center.
She suffered injuries to her head, neck and spine that have required multiple surgeries, the complaint claims.
She has been unable to work since the January 2023 crash.
Brian Williams allegedly suffered injuries to his back, knee and shoulder.
The couple claims their injuries are permanent and have “radically changed their lifestyles on a permanent basis.”
They are seeking compensation for past and future medical expenses, lost wages, diminished future earning capacity, pain and suffering, scarring, emotional distress, permanent disability and loss of enjoyment of life.
Because they were married at the time of the crash, they also claim their injuries have dramatically affected their daily lives and marital relationship and are seeking damages for loss of consortium.
The complaint itself does not put a dollar figure on those damages, asking instead for an amount to be proven at trial.
The Williamses have requested a 12-person jury trial.
Major Interstate Carrier
New Prime, which does business as Prime Inc., is a large Missouri-based interstate trucking company.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records list the company as operating 7,919 power units with 9,070 drivers. The company reported more than 831 million miles traveled in 2024.
Federal records say its trucks haul everything from general freight and refrigerated food to fresh produce, machinery, chemicals, building materials and agricultural products.
The federal carrier database lists New Prime’s headquarters in Springfield, Missouri.
The Williamses claim Sylvestre was acting within the course and scope of his employment with New Prime when the collision happened and argue the company is therefore responsible for his alleged negligence.
The company and Sylvestre had not yet filed responses to the newly filed complaint Monday.
It is at least the second motor vehicle personal injury lawsuit filed against New Prime in Wyoming federal court this year.
David Dingess sued New Prime and driver Kylone Holder in April over a separate crash. That case remains pending in U.S. District Court for Wyoming.
The existence of the separate lawsuit does not establish wrongdoing by New Prime in either case.
The Williamses’ lawsuit was filed by Jackson attorney Jason Edward Ochs.
Nearly four years after the crash, the couple is asking a Wyoming federal jury to decide who was responsible and how much the injuries they say followed it are worth.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
