All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
(Riverton, WY) – 54-year-old Riverton man Jack Lackey was arrested in relation to a Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) case last week, following the execution of a warrant for aggravated homicide by vehicle, according to the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office call log issued on December 26.
Court documents indicate that Lackey was charged due to his role in a drunk driving incident that led to the death of his spouse, Elaine Whittenberger, in August of 2024.
According to the affidavit filed on December 23, 2025, a WHP trooper was dispatched to the area of milepost 78 on US 26 at approximately 3:21 AM on August 2, 2024, after receiving two separate reports of a shirtless man, later identified as Lackey, in the middle of the roadway.
Because this location is within the Wind River Reservation, the WHP trooper requested that any available Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officers respond while he made his way to the scene.
The BIA officers were the first to make contact with Lackey, who “appeared to have road rash on his body” and “looked like he had been in a crash.” Lackey reportedly told officers his wife was “trapped under a vehicle,” which was not immediately visible until officers soon located it in a nearby ditch. The BIA officer’s observations in the affidavit indicate Whittenberger was already deceased at that time.
Both a BIA officer and an EMT who was treating Lackey stated that he “smelled of alcohol,” court documents continue, with Lackey admitting that he and Whittenberger had been drinking to celebrate “their second anniversary of opening their restaurant.”
Lackey claimed he had crashed while “trying to swerve around an antelope,” the BIA officers’ written reports inform, which also stated that Lackey had “glossy eyes, slurred speech, and the odor of alcohol on his breath.”
“I can’t believe I might have killed my wife,” Lackey reportedly told officers at the time.
The affidavit goes on to state that the initial crash report determined that Lackey’s vehicle was travelling south on US 26, when it “left the roadway to the right, then overcorrected to the left, crossed both north and south travel lanes, exited the roadway to the left, tripped, and impacted multiple large sage brushes before finally colliding with two large trees.”
On August 8, 2024, WHP investigators obtained a search and seizure warrant for Lackey’s medical records from the night of the incident, which indicated that he had a BAC of .15% “at least six or more hours after the accident.”
On August 23, 2024, WHP investigators received the Fremont County Coroner Office’s fatal crash investigation report, which stated that Whittenberger’s cause of death was determined to be “severe blunt force trauma injuries caused by a single vehicle rollover with ejection.”
The Coroner’s Office also informed investigators that “it was apparent that Lackey was the driver” of the truck, based on their interviews with Lackey, and that he said he “only remembered waking up out of the vehicle on the ground and in pain.”
Further medical records obtained by WHP investigators stated Lackey admitted to responders that he had been consuming alcohol while at dinner with Whittenberger prior to the crash, that he had been driving, and that he did “not remember if he had his seatbelt on.”
WHP investigators later received the ‘completed reconstruction report’ of the crash in April of 2025, which determined that it was “caused by human error.” Both occupants were ejected, the report continues, at which point Whittenberger was struck by the rolling truck. The report also corroborated that Lackey had a BAC of .15%
WHP investigators also obtained a search warrant for Lackey’s email account, which indicated that he received an email from his car insurance company stating he was “not eligible to provide or receive anything from the accident due to (Lackey) being the driver.”
A warrant for Lackey’s arrest was issued on December 23, 2025, and executed in the ensuing days. His preliminary hearing in Lander’s Circuit Court has been scheduled for January 7, 2026.
The maximum sentence for an aggravated homicide by vehicle felony charge is 20 years imprisonment.
County 10 will provide updates on the case, which can be viewed here.