Cheyenne woman dies following Wind River Canyon crash

One person died and another was hospitalized after a Saturday afternoon crash in Wind River Canyon.

Cheyenne resident Jamie Winters, 41, died as a result of the crash which occurred at 12:40 p.m. near mile post 123 on US Highway 20 approximately 8 miles south of Thermopolis. 

According to a news release from the Wyoming Highway Partrol, Winters was driving a 2014 Dodge Avenger passenger car northbound on US 20 when the car crossed over the centerline into the southbound lane of travel. A 2012 Dodge 3500 pickup truck pulling a stock trailer was traveling south when the northbound Dodge entered the southbound lane of US 20.

The driver of the Dodge truck, 52-year-old Randel Patton of Silt, Colo., attempted to steer right to avoid a crash but was unable to do so due to a guardrail present in the west ditch. The Dodge collided with the rear-end of the pickup and the stock trailer. 

Winters was not wearing her seat belt correctly but was not ejected. Winters was transported by ground ambulance to Hot Springs Memorial Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. Patton was wearing his seat belt and was uninjured. A passenger riding with Winters in the Dodge Avenger, 22-year-old Cheyenne resident Steven C. C'Bearing, was not wearing his seat belt and was transported by ground ambulance to Hot Springs Memorial Hospital and was hospitalized. His condition is unknown.   

Alcohol is being investigated as a contributing factor in this crash that marked the 31st highway fatality in Wyoming for 2016. There were 56 fatalities during this same time period in 2015.