Fatal accident in Uinta County
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UINTA COUNTY — A Green River woman was killed after the vehicle she was in rolled off Interstate 80 near Lyman early Thursday morning. The woman’s husband and their three children, who were also in the vehicle, are expected to live.
According to a press release issued Monday by the Wyoming Highway Patrol, a 2013 Toyota Tundra was traveling eastbound on I-80 when it drifted off the highway to the left and struck a delineator post.
Investigators said the driver, 31-year-old Samuel Smith of Green River, then steered the vehicle to the right in an attempt to re-enter the roadway. However, the Tundra then hit the median side of the bridge deck guardrail face, traveled along the bridge deck then rolled over the guardrail, landing on the vehicle’s roof on the I-80 business loop below the interstate.
Investigators estimate the time of the crash was 2 a.m., but since the vehicle wasn’t visible to passersby on I-80, authorities weren’t notified until just before 6 a.m., when someone driving on the business loop called 911.
Bridger Valley Fire and EMS responded to the scene and crews were able to extricate the family of five.
Smith’s wife, 30-year-old Kymbrlee Smith, also of Green River, was pronounced dead at the scene. Samuel Smith was transported by helicopter to University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, where he is in critical but stable condition, recovering from head trauma.
The children — a 10-year-old, 3-year-old and 1-year-old — were transported to Evanston Regional Hospital where they were treated and released to family members.
The two youngest children were properly restrained with child safety seats. The 10-year-old and both the parents were properly wearing their seat belts. According to the WHP press release, fatigue is being investigated as the main cause of the crash.
Friends and family of the Smiths have set up a Go Fund Me account to help the family pay for medical costs, including helicopter and ambulance transports, and the cost of Kymbrlee Smith’s funeral, among other expenses.
At press time, over $18,000 of the $50,000 fundraising goal had been donated. Donations can be made through the Go Fund Me site at https://www.gofundme.com/Samsmithfamily.
