An eight-year-old girl from Rock Springs died in a crash west of Rock Springs on Tuesday.
According to the Wyoming Highway Patrol, eight-year-old Heather Fletcher died in a crash that occurred at about 12:40 p.m. Tuesday on Interstate 80 about five miles west of Rock Springs.
Heather Fletcher was a passenger in a 1996 Ford Explorer that was being driven by her father Brian Fletcher, a 53-year-old Rock Springs resident. The Ford was traveling east on I-80 when it left the road to the south and collided with a section of box beam guardrail.
Heather Fletcher was seated on the center console area of the front seat of the Explorer and was not wearing a seat belt. She sustained fatal injuries within the cab of the SUV on scene.
Another eight-year-old girl was in the Ford and was also unrestrained. She was transported by ground ambulance to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County in Rock Springs where she was treated and released. Brian Fletcher was wearing his seat belt and was also transported by ground ambulance to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County where he was hospitalized.
Wyoming Highway Patrol says driver impairment, fatigue and mechanical failure are all being investigated as possible contributing factors in this crash that marked the 40th highway fatality in Wyoming for 2016. There were 66 fatalities during this same time period in 2015.
Possible charges from this crash are pending as the investigation is still ongoing.