ELK MOUNTAIN, Wyo. — Following a semi-on-semi collision near Elk Mountain on Thursday, a Missouri man was declared dead. The victim was riding in one of the trucks, the Wyoming Highway Patrol said.
Ralph Pimentel III, age 55, was a passenger in a Volvo combination-unit semitrailer, according to the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s WHP report. At about 10 a.m. on September 18, he and the driver were traveling east on Interstate 80 outside of Elk Mountain.
A Freightliner truck was parked in the eastbound emergency lane there, precisely at mile marker 274. Whether or not the parked truck’s hazard lights were on was not mentioned in the report.
The Volvo allegedly went from the travel lane into the emergency lane and struck the Freightliner’s rear end head-on. The Freightliner veered off the road and onto its passenger side. The Volvo, meanwhile, went by the Freightliner, then got off the road and caught fire.
According to the WHP investigation, the incident’s likely cause was driver inattention. Whether Pimentel had been wearing his seat belt or not is unknown. The drivers of the two trucks, who were the other two people involved in the collision, were said to have suffered injuries.
The accident was not thought to have been caused by other potential causes, such as bad weather, poor road conditions, or poor visibility.
As of right now, WYDOT has recorded 86 fatalities related to traffic in 2025. As of right now, this year is on par with 2021, which would result in 111 fatalities by the end of the year.
As of this date, 2023 has been the deadliest year in recent memory for commuters in Wyoming, with 107 fatalities. There would be 144 fatalities by the end of the year.
