Driver inattention being investigated as possible cause of a fatal UTV crash
LARAMIE, Wyo. (KIF) - On Wednesday, a fatal crash occurred at milepost 29.5 on Highway 26, west of Fort Laramie, Wyoming.
At 8:46 a.m., Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers were notified of a UTV rollover on the adjacent Service Road.
A 2020 Kubota RTV-XG850 was westbound on the Service Road that ran parallel to the railroad tracks. The driver of the Kubota was assisting in the movement of cattle in the area and failed to notice a mound of gravel on the roadway. The Kubota collided with the gravel and overturned.
The driver of the Kubota has been identified as Maurice E. Jepson, an 84-year-old resident of Fort Laramie, Wyoming. Jepson was not wearing a seatbelt and succumbed to his injuries at the crash scene.
The roadway was snow-covered at the time of the crash.
Driver inattention is being investigated as a possible contributing factor.
This is the 5th fatality on Wyoming’s roadways in 2023 compared to 1 in 2022, 8 in 2021, and 2 in 2020.
