 - None of the accidental vehicular deaths that have occurred so far this year in Fremont County were related to drugs or alcohol, Coroner Erin Ivie reported this month.){kind=link}
(Lander, WY) – None of the accidental vehicular deaths that have occurred so far this year in Fremont County were related to drugs or alcohol, Coroner Erin Ivie reported this month.
The statistic marks “an improvement from years past,” when Ivie said “most” accidental vehicular deaths were related to drugs or alcohol.
The numbers show that local DUI patrols “are actually making quite a difference,” Ivie told the Fremont County Commission during a regular meeting Tuesday.
There have been 10 accidental deaths so far this year in Fremont County, Ivie said, including three accidental vehicular deaths, two hypothermia deaths, two ground-level falls, one gunshot wound, one acute toxicity (oxycodone), and one asphyxial death.
At this point last year, Ivie said 15 accidental deaths had been recorded in Fremont County.
Homicide and suicide totals are down this year too, Ivie said, with three homicides and no suicides recorded so far in 2025 compared to seven homicides and three suicides at the same point in 2024.
Contractual autopsies
The coroner’s office has collected more than $71,000 in revenue from 36 contractual autopsies so far this fiscal year, Ivie said.
Two more contractual autopsies have already been completed and billed for a total of $4,325, she noted, and four additional cases are pending completed reports but are expected to bring in about $8,900, so “total anticipated revenue as it stands right now – and I know it will go up, because we have a case pending Thursday for Natrona County – is $87,486.”
Of that total, she said $63,000 will go to Fremont County’s forensic pathologist, leaving $24,486 in “clear revenue” that “goes back to the general fund.”
The coroner’s office has conducted 29 autopsies for Fremont County this year, Ivie said.
New building
Ivie said the quotes she has received for work on the new building the county purchased for the coroner’s office at 201 E. Washington Ave. have all expired, and she asked whether she should pursue another round of bids.
She also asked for more information about the project timeline, noting that she has “been asked by both the public, contractual counties, elected partners, elected peers – both mine and yours – where we stand on this … and I don’t quite know (how) to answer.”
“This will be the third time that I’ve (asked) for quotes, and they’ve expired each and every time,” she said, adding that the plumbing to the building has been “shut off” and the “break in the line hasn’t been fixed.”
Commissioner Larry Allen said Ivie should obtain the new estimates for the work and send the information to the building maintenance department, agreeing that “we need to get moving on” the project.
“We just haven’t had the time,” Commissioner Mike Jones said. “We’ll be coming probably in July with an overall plan that would include contracting with somebody who can manage the project for us. … We’re just behind.”
For more information, call the Fremont County Coroner’s Office at (307) 856-7150.