Laramie enjoyed a Jubilee Days light on injuries this weekend, based on emergency room admissions.
Ivinson Memorial Hospital’s emergency department director Sandy Knapton said summer is usually the busiest time for her department and that Jubilee Days often spikes the number of emergency room visits. But this year was tamer than most.
“We were concerned with injuries, especially alcohol-related injuries and there were a few here and there, but not like a typical Jubilee Days,” she said. “We were able to manage the numbers we saw this weekend.”
The summer, now halfway through, has not been as busy for the emergency department at Ivinson as it often can be during the warmer months.
“Like anywhere I’ve ever worked, it comes in waves,” Knapton said. “We had a brutal winter, but we haven’t been as busy this summer.”
Law enforcement, however, still saw spikes in crime.
Lt. Mike Simmons, a Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) district supervisor, said sometimes officers are brought in from other divisions to help with expected Jubilee Days activity, but this year, local officers working overtime was enough.
“There was definitely an increase in drunk drivers,” he said. “It actually started a couple of days before Jubilee Days.”
While the WHP division generally experiences one or two pursuits in a year, they were involved in three pursuits during Jubilee Days, though it is unclear as of yet if they were all related to downtown festivities.
One pursuit started in town, initiated by the Laramie Police Department (LPD). Once out of town, deputies from the Albany County Sheriff’s office took over. Eventually, a WHP trooper caught up to the car and spiked its tires before the car left the highway, broke a fence and continued off-road, Simmons said.
“We were unable to apprehend that person and haven’t been able to find him yet,” Simmons said Monday. “We’re doing what we can to make sure that guy answers for what he did.”
The supervisor said WHP is confident they will find the suspect because LPD identified the driver during the initial stop.
The investigation is ongoing, so the suspect’s name and further details have not yet been released by any of the law enforcement agencies involved.
Albany County Sheriff Dave O’Malley said his department, less involved with Jubilee Days than LPD, has to deal mainly with the increased number of incarcerations in the county jail and domestic disputes that result from people drinking too much.
“It doesn’t impact us as much as it impacts the police department,” O’Malley said. “We really don’t get the kind of pressure the PD gets. It all depends year to year and this year’s impact wasn’t that bad.”
Knapton said it was nice to have a relatively calm Independence Day week.
“Jubilee Days is always a time when we’re a touch nervous,” she said. “Whatever comes through our doors, we’re always prepared.”
