Jack-knifed semi truck triggered a fatal 20-vehicle pileup on Interstate 80 in Wamsutter, WY between Rawlins and Rock Springs, WY.

Wamsutter is located in the southern part of Wyoming about 40 miles west of Rawlins, about 158 miles southwest of Casper and about 190 miles northwest of Cheyenne. The accident appears to be triggered by a tractor trailer that jack-knifed and partially blocked traffic lanes. Road conditions were icy and foggy.

According to early reports, the accident was triggered when a semi truck jack-knifed which partially blocked traffic. A second truck tried to avoid the first truck and overturned in the attempt. Several more collisions followed when traffic began to slow and stop behind the original big rig accident.

At least one person died and five others were injured as a result of the incident. Several others have been hospitalized because of the crash.

According to the Rock Springs Rocket-Miner, Valerie Rutstein, 41 years old from Rock Springs, WY died from multiple traumas as a result of the crash.

Location of the fatal semi truck accident on eastbound I-80 about three miles west of Wamsutter near the Rasmussen Road interchange.

According to reports, at least five other people were also injured in the accident. According to the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WyDOT) they were transported to Memorial Hospital of Carbon County. Two of the victims sustained serious injuries and had to be extricated from mangled vehicles. Hospital officials said that all five injured motorists had left the hospital Wednesday, though.

Several large trucks were involved in the accident. One of them was a tanker truck that was hauling crude oil. Several passenger vehicles, a school bus and a motor home were also involved in the crash.

During the crash, the tanker truck that was hauling crude oil overturned and leaked onto the roadway. according to WyDOT, crews were working to offload the oil to another tanker truck Wednesday afternoon.

Eight students were aboard the school bus. According to Uinta County School District No. 4 superintendent Jeff Newton, no one in the bus was injured. The bus was bumped and went off the road but was able to get back on the road. The driver made the decision to go to Wamsutter and offload the students to remove them from the area of immediate danger. The bus was heading to a Family and Consumer Science State Camp in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Below is a Google street view of Interstate 80 near the Rasmussen Road interchange in Wamsutter, Wyoming. You can click the mouse button and drag it to get a full 360° view of the surrounding landscape. Road conditions were icy and foggy at the time of the accident.

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After the crash was reported, both lanes of I-80 were closed at the scene of the accident. They were reopened around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday evening.

Traffic on the interstate was brought to a standstill for hours. According to a WyDOT news release, as of mid-afternoon on Wednesday, the wrecks caused eastbound lanes to be closed from Rawlins all the way to the Utah state line.

Bus crashes into overturned tractor trailer on I-25 near Casper, Wyoming

The driver, 61-year-old Donald Bonner, of Westminster, Colorado, was killed and 42 of the bus’ 47 passengers were taken to the hospital. Company officials said six people remained in the hospital Saturday for longer observation.

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President Bruce Neuharth said accidents like this are very rare. “We put on over 11 million very safe miles,” he said. “As a company we have a very good safety record. We try to take care of these things when they do occur. We also put emergency procedures in place. We watch road conditions, weather reports. If it’s unsafe we make the immediate call to pull a vehicle off.”

Passengers stayed in a hotel in Casper. Neuharth said several passengers made alternative travel arrangements to get to their destination, but the company offered another bus and several vans for passengers who may have been afraid to board a bus.

Police officials reported the bus had just gotten to the top of a hill when it hit the tractor-trailer and pushed it nearly 60-feet down the roadway. All of injured passengers were rushed to two different hospitals in the area for treatment. Most of the reported injuries included broken bones, like a broken jaw, broken leg, and a broken tail bone.

The driver of the flipped semi was transported to Wyoming Medical Center for treatment. Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers are conducting a full investigation into the fatal crash.

Truck accident attorneys, Gordon & Elias, are representing one of the passengers injured in the accident. For more information, read more about common truck accident causes.

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