A 70-year-old Colorado woman died in a car crash east of Evanston Monday night after her stopped vehicle was struck by a driver from Rock Springs on Interstate 80.
Janoah McWinn, 70 of Colorado Springs, Colo. had been driving a 2004 Ford Escape. The car was parked on the shoulder of the westbound lanes of I-80 around mile marker 13, approximately nine miles east of Evanston.
Wyoming Highway Patrol says McWinn’s exact location before the crash is under investigation, but Troopers believe she may have been outside of the vehicle at the time of the crash.
At about 10:55 p.m., a westbound 2007 Hino straight truck, allegedly driven by 39-year-old Rock Springs, Wyoming resident Justin Chadwick, came upon the parked Ford and crashed into it in a rear-end type crash.
WHP says Chadwick was preparing to pull over to check on a mechanical issue with his vehicle before the crash occurred.
McWinn sustained fatal injuries on scene. Chadwick was wearing his seat belt and was not injured.
Driver inattention is being investigated as a contributing factor in this crash that marked the 21st highway fatality in Wyoming for 2016. There were 48 fatalities during this same time period in 2015.
The investigation is still ongoing.