(Carbon County, WY) – A head-on collision between a semi and a passenger car that took place on US 287 / WY 789 outside of Rawlins on February 24, resulted in one death, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol preliminary report posted on February 26.
The deceased has been identified as 76-year-old Wyoming resident Lillian Martin.
The call for service was made at 12:44 PM, where law enforcement later learned that a combination unit semi was southbound on US 287 at around mile marker 8.5, when the driver lost control.
This caused the vehicle to cross into the northbound travel lane, where a passenger car was heading northbound, and the driver attempted to avoid a collision.
Both vehicles collided head-on, and the passenger car became engulfed in fire, which resulted in a significant road closure on that stretch of US 287 / WY 789.
Speed was listed as a possible contributing factor, with road/weather conditions listed as having severe wind, blowing snow and slush.