(Cheyenne, WY) – Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) has shared that on July 19th, 2021, a fatal crash occurred around milepost 28 on US-85, north of Cheyenne, Wyoming.
At 4:22 PM, WHP troopers were notified of a motor vehicle collision involving a truck headed north on US-85 that entered the southbound lane, colliding head-on with a commercial truck.
The driver of the truck has been identified as 54-year-old Torrington, Wyoming resident Martin Lopez. Lopez was wearing a seatbelt, and succumbed to his injuries at the scene of the crash.
The driver of the commercial vehicle has been identified as 62-year-old Wade, North Carolina resident Rimantas Talalas. Talalas was wearing a seatbelt and not injured in the crash.
Driver inattention on the part of Lopez is being investigated as a potential contributing factor.
This is the 55th fatality on Wyoming’s roadways in 2021 compared to 59 in 2020, 93 in 2019, and 56 in 2018 to date.