Wyoming Resident Killed in Traffic Accident Near Thermopolis
Speed was listed as a contributing factors to an accident on Sept. 30, where Wyoming resident Kari Bowden, 26, was killed near Thermopolis.
According to Wyoming Highway Patrol, Bowden was the passenger of a Ford pickup, which travelling was southbound on US 20, near milepost 128, at 9:00 p.m.
The driver of the Ford, who was not identified, swerved to the left to avoid a deer in the roadway and overcorrected to the right causing the vehicle to enter a slide on the driver’s side.
According to the narrative provided by Highway Patrol, the passenger side of the vehicle collided with the west guardrail, causing Bowden to be ejected from the vehicle through the passenger window, before deflecting back into the paved shoulder and colliding with the west guardrail again.
The vehicle then crossed the highway, striking and deflecting off of the east guardrail, crossing the highway again, and striking the west guardrail where it traveled down before coming to rest.
Bowden was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, and another person involved in the crash was injured, though it is unknown who that person was or the extent of their injuries.
This is the 88th fatality, and 81st crash, to date, compared to 105 fatalities at this point in 2020, 128 in 2019, 92 in 2018, and 113 in 2017.