(Riverton, WY) – On Monday, June 26, the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) released further information on the June 14 fatal accident that involved a stolen vehicle and resulted in the death of a 17-year-old Riverton girl.
The WHP report confirms the information in the above-linked press release issued by the Riverton Police Department (RPD), in that the fatality was caused by a crash that resulted from speeding in a stolen vehicle.
“The (vehicle) was eastbound on Valley View Road when (it) exited the roadway to the left. The driver overcorrected to the right, and it entered a clockwise rotation. The (vehicle) left the roadway to the right, tripped, and rolled before coming to rest on its driver’s side in a deep ravine.“
The identity of the deceased was not released in the report, but it did confirm she was a Wyoming resident, and that there were six other occupants in the vehicle.
“The (vehicle) was stolen, and occupant positions within the vehicle are still under investigation. All occupants fled the crash scene and were contacted by law enforcement later.”
Speeding was listed as a possible contributing factor, and the report indicates that no seat belts were in use.
There have been 61 fatalities on Wyoming’s roadways in 2023 compared to 50 in 2022, 45 in 2021, and 43 in 2020 to date.