December 22, 2022 |
An early morning crash on I-80 Wednesday morning resulted in the death of a local emergency medical responder and serious injuries to another.
While responding to a two-vehicle crash on I-80 early Wednesday morning, two Memorial Hospital of Carbon County EMTs were struck by a semi-truck. One of the emergency responders was fatally injured. The other was transported to Cheyenne where she was listed in in critical condition.
The crash occurred around 4:15 a.m. at milepost 197 while the EMTs responded to an initial crash involving injuries. According to a release from Lt. Kyle McKay with the Wyoming Highway patrol, after arriving at the scene, a 2019 Freightliner semi-tractor with trailer struck the two EMTs and collided with the rear of an ambulance.
Doug McGee is the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s public affairs officer. McGee confirmed a motor vehicle crash caused the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 to be shut down.
Photo courtesy WYDOT District 1 – Southeast Wyoming.
The initial crash occurred shortly before 4:00 a.m. The Wyoming Highway Patrol was notified of a two-vehicle crash involving a semi-tractor with trailer and a pickup truck pulling a small enclosed trailer. Lt. McKay described the event.
Memorial Hospital of Carbon County EMTs quickly arrived on the scene. Approximately 20 minutes after the crash, the EMTs were attending to the victims when a tractor trailer crashed into the responders. Lt. McKay said one of the first responders was killed and the other was seriously injured.
Memorial Hospital of Carbon County EMT Tyeler Harris of Saratoga was killed when he was struck by the semi. Lt. McKay said the cause of the incident is under investigation, but Wyoming Highway Patrol believes the driver, who is from New York state, was not paying attention when he struck the emergency vehicle.
Harris responded to the crash as an EMT for Memorial Hospital of Carbon County. A press release from Stephanie Hinkle, the marketing, communications, and foundation director of MHCC expressed her condolences to the families of the medics. It also states the hospital is working closely with law enforcement.
Harris also volunteered for South-Central Wyoming Emergency Medical Services. SCWEMS Director Stayton Mosby said Harris joined the service last year. Mosby had nothing but praise for the medic.
Tyeler Harris is survived by his wife and three children.
Sources familiar with what happened told Bigfoot 99 the other EMT injured in the incident was Tiffany Gruetzmacher from Rawlins. She works as an EMT supervisor at MHCC with Harris. The extent of her injuries is unknown at this time, but sources said she was transported to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center.
The driver of the tractor-trailer that crashed into the original incident scene has been identified as Saviol Saint Gean, of Brooklyn, NY. Driver inattention is being investigated as a possible contributing factor of the crash.
