Trooper injured when struck by semi-trailer
Accident near Camp Creek, 4 miles south of Hoback Junction
by Wyoming Highway Patrol
May 19, 2005
A Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper remains hospitalized at St. Johns Hospital in Jackson after his patrol vehicle was hit broadside by a semi tractor/trailer combination Thursday morning, May 19, in the Snake River Canyon. The crash happened just after 8:00 am on US 191 four miles southeast of Hoback Junction at Camp Creek.
Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Lucian Carter had just cleared a vehicle stop on a northbound commercial vehicle. Trooper Carter was in the process of making a u-turn when he pulled in front of a southbound tractor/trailer combination. The southbound combination struck the Durango patrol vehicle in the passenger’s door. The impact collapsed the passenger side of his patrol vehicle about half-way into the occupant compartment. Trooper Carter has broken bones, bruising of his kidneys and other minor cuts and abrasions. He will remain hospitalized at St. Johns for an as of yet undetermined amount of time.
The combination unit was operated by a Jackson based business known as West Bank Sanitation and was enroute to Sublette County with a load of refuse. The driver of the combination, 32 year old Trina Lara from Jackson, was not injured in the crash. Both drivers were wearing their occupant restraints. Carter's Dodge Durango patrol vehicle was equipped with front and side airbags. The side airbags did deploy in his vehicle.
The posted speed limit in the area of the crash on US 191 is 55 mph. Troopers investigating the crash scene believe that the combination unit was traveling at the posted speed limit when the impact occurred.
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