January 31, 2023 |
Saratoga school bus drivers joined others from districts around the area to help transport victims to safety during Saturday’s massive pile-up on Interstate 80.
The 44-vehicle pile-up near Wagonhound forced the Wyoming Highway Patrol and the Wyoming Department of Transportation to shut down the highway in both directions between Laramie and Rawlins. WYDOT’s Andrea Staley said the situation required “all hands on deck.”
Pictured above: Photo courtesy Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken/Facebook.
Saturday’s winter storm created extremely unsafe driving conditions along Interstate 80. The cold temperatures combined with high wind gusts resulted in an icy road surface with blowing snow drifts. Staley said the incident occurred along an especially dangerous stretch of the highway.
According to a Wyoming Highway Patrol press release, several people were injured in the incident with one confirmed fatality. Sgt. Beck told Bigfoot 99 Monday that no information was available.
Staley said WYDOT worked all day Monday to reopen the interstate.
With the sheer number of people involved in the pile-up, responders needed a way to transport the uninjured away from the scene. Carbon County School District #2 Superintendent Darrin Jennings said Carbon County Emergency Management Coordinator Lenny Layman asked if he could send school buses to the accident location.
Saturday afternoon, Saratoga’s head bus driver, Mack Miller, drove the Panther basketball team to a game in Encampment. Jennings and Layman approached Miller during the game about volunteering to ferry people from the accident scene. Miller said he and another driver, Trent Rimmer, agreed to drive a pair of buses to the scene and help with rescue efforts. They chained up the bus tires for the 100-mile round trip in bad weather.
Miller said the roads became increasingly treacherous as he and Rimmer approached the crash scene. Once there, Miller said, emergency responders used a snowcat-type vehicle to carry people to waiting Albany County school district buses. He described the scene as chaotic with trucks strewn everywhere following the chain reaction crash.
Miller said the two truck drivers on board his bus were cold, scared, and looking for a place out of the weather. Upon seeing the two Albany County buses preparing to leave, Miller said he called the county emergency manager and asked to have them take the drivers to Laramie.
After the truck drivers were moved to the Albany County school buses, Miller said he was asked to look for more stranded motorists. Miller said he found one person and the other Saratoga school bus driver took him to Rawlins.
Carbon County Emergency Management Coordinator Lenny Layman told Bigfoot 99 two people were transported to Rawlins. Rimmer took one while the other hitched a ride with Carbon County sheriff’s deputies. Layman said 22 other people were taken to Laramie.
Saratoga’s head bus driver said he was at the accident scene for about six hours. Rimmer, the other Saratoga driver took an additional two hours to deliver his passenger to Rawlins. Miller said he is thankful for everyone’s hard work.
WYDOT spokesperson Andrea Staley said last year’s relatively mild winter may have made drivers complacent. She said people need to remain vigilant while driving during this time of year.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
