A man, Canadian Alex Dragaytse, was arrested and initially charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and was transported to Albany County Detention Center following a pileup on I-80 on Monday.
UPDATE: While Dragaytsev was arrested and charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, the charges against him were dropped on Tuesday and he was released from custody, according to an article with The Associated Press. Albany County Attorney Peggy Trent said Dragaytsev is instead being cited for failure to use caution for hazardous conditions, which carries a $60 fine.
“We did not feel that there was, from the investigation that was completed at this point, that we could proceed with the charge at this point,” Trent said to the AP.
A digital sign 19 miles east of the crash site warned motorists of “Reduced Visibility, Black Ice” and instructed motorists to reduce speed since 5:57 a.m. that morning.
The decision to charge Dragaytsev was based on evidence from the investigation and was made with the Albany County Attorney’s Office, according to a statement from the Wyoming Highway Patrol. The specific evidence leading to the arrest is part of the pending criminal investigation and was not releasable at the time of the statement.
There are two confirmed deaths caused by the pileup, in which the most recent numbers said between 59 and 65 vehicles were involved. Lynn Freeman, 58, from Arkansas, and Jenay Breden, 23, from Colorado, were pronounced dead at the scene. The two fatalities were in two separate vehicles during the crash.
Of the 20 to 25 people transported to Ivinson Memorial Hospital, three were admitted, and another was transferred to the University Hospital in Denver.
Initial reports on the incident said two commercial vehicles crashed early Monday morning, and one of the trucks jackknifed, blocking both westbound lanes of I-80. This caused a chain reaction of numerous vehicles crashing due to the dense fog and light slush conditions.
There was a tanker hauling hazardous materials involved in the crash, and it did catch fire, but it did not explode, so the contents of the tanker were not released into the open.
Wyoming Highway Patrol had recommendations for motorists in a news release from Tuesday. “Motorists are encouraged to plan ahead by checking road and weather conditions before traveling in higher elevations such as Wyoming, follow digital message sign warnings and variable speed limits, decrease speeds and increase following distances when they encounter inclement weather and to always buckle up.”
