FRIDAY, October, 2026|
Photo – Savoil Saint Jean – Courtesy Sweetwater County Sheriffs Office
The Wyoming Supreme Court will determine whether the jury acted unreasonably in convicting Savoil Saint Jean of Aggravated Homicide by Vehicle and Aggravated Assault and Battery in the crash that killed EMT Tyeler Harris and seriously injured EMT Tiffany Gruetzmacher.
At 3:55 a.m. on December 21st, 2022, a Ford F‑150 pulling a trailer jackknifed on Interstate 80 west of Rawlins. A semi‑truck then hit the pickup, scattering debris across the left lane and coming to rest blocking the right lane. A second semi moved into the center median to avoid the debris now covering the left lane, and traffic had to use the righthand shoulder to get around the scene.
Memorial Hospital of Carbon County EMTs Tyeler Harris and Tiffany Gruetzmacher were the first to arrive at the crash site. While they were attending to the victims, Haitian‑born commercial truck driver Saviol Saint Jean crashed into the back of the Memorial Hospital ambulance and stuck the two EMTs. Harris was killed, and Gruetzmacher was critically injured.
Earlier this year, Saint Jean was sentenced in Sweetwater County District Court to up to 14 years in prison for Aggravated Homicide by Vehicle, Aggravated Assault and Battery, and for failing to yield when approaching an emergency vehicle. In July, Saint Jean’s attorneys filed an appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court arguing that the evidence presented during the trial was not sufficient for the jury to conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the driver acted recklessly on that December morning.
The Wyoming Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and oral arguments were scheduled for yesterday, October 15th. After stating the facts of the case, Saint Jean’s attorney, Brittany Thorpe, contended that the driver did not act recklessly when he struck Harris and Gruetzmacher’s ambulance. Instead, Thorpe claimed that Saint Jean simply misperceived the accident scene due to a glare on his windshield caused by the ambulance lights.
Thorpe added that Saint Jean’s lack of experience, having earned his CDL only three months before the incident, led him to misjudge the scene and assume the ambulance was in the righthand lane. That error in judgement caused him to move into the left lane, which he quickly discovered was blocked by large pieces of wreckage from the initial crash. In his attempt to avoid the debris, Thorpe said Saint Jean acted as any reasonable driver would and tried to stop and steer to the left, at which point he struck the ambulance.
Thorpe argued that the Sweetwater County jury failed to consider the actions Saint Jean took to avoid the collision when they found him guilty of Aggravated Homicide by Vehicle and Aggravated Assault and Battery.
The Wyoming Supreme Court Justices questioned whether the driver’s inexperience should have influenced the jury’s decision, noting that taking the reasoning to its natural conclusion would mean an experienced driver could be found guilty, but Saint Jean would not simply because he was new to the job. Brittany Thorpe said that wasn’t the point she was making. Instead, she argued that the jury should have taken Saint Jean’s inexperience into account when deciding if he acted negligently or recklessly that night.
Thorpe continued, saying that Saint Jean’s CDL training instructed him to slow down and move into the left‑hand lane when approaching an unknown situation, which, she contended, he did. While other drivers were able to avoid the scene by using the right shoulder, Thorpe said Saint Jean’s lack of experience and the glare from the ambulance lights caused him to misperceive the scene and continue driving in the left lane. She argued that he didn’t disregard the danger, which is required to prove he acted recklessly, but simply misunderstood what he was seeing, and that the jury’s finding of Aggravated Homicide by Vehicle and Aggravated Assault and Battery was unreasonable.
Next, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Reeves Jones testified on the state’s behalf. Jones explained that the jury was clearly instructed on the difference between recklessness and negligence, but still found Saint Jean guilty of recklessness. She also noted that many other commercial truck drivers were able to avoid the initial accident scene before Saint Jean arrived, concluding that a reasonable person would have slowed enough to safely stop and assess the situation before continuing. For that reason, Jones stated that the jury was correct in finding him guilty of recklessness and not the lesser charge of negligence.
When asked for a rebuttal, Brittany Thorpe emphasized the importance of experience, saying that although he slowed when approaching the initial crash, Saint Jean’s inexperience led him to misperceive the situation. She argued that he did not consciously take on a substantial and unjustifiable risk and that his conduct did not deviate from what an ordinary person would have done in that situation, adding that no reasonable jury would have found him guilty of the higher charges.
The Justices will take the matter under advisement and issue their ruling at a later date.
