Fatal wreck closes Hwy. 85
A two-vehicle accident south of Newcastle on Jan. 17 at 2:05 p.m. resulted in the death of a 71-year-old Denver man, according to Sgt. Jeremy Beck of the Wyoming Highway Patrol. The accident occurred around milepost 85 in Niobrara County, closing the highway for several hours.
Vladimir Perlin was driving a 2007 Lexus RX 400H westbound when he stopped at the stop sign at the intersection of U.S. Highways 18 and 85. Failing to yield to a 2019 Dodge Durango, Perlin turned left and the driver’s side of the Lexus was struck. Perlin was wearing a seat belt, but ultimately succumbed to injuries received during the incident, according to Beck .
“Four other folks were involved in the crash,” Beck said. “All were injured and transported to the Niobrara County Hospital for treatment.”
The fatality was the fourth recorded on Wyoming’s roadways in 2023.
Since then, according to information provided by Beck, eight other individuals have died on Wyoming roadways, including two on the morning of Jan. 22 near Evanston. The release on that accident states that two Missouri men, driver 39-year-old Keith R. Koehler II and 40-year-old Tyler U. Judd, were killed when the 2007 Volvo Conventional commercial truck they were traveling in rolled over on Interstate 80.
Another five individuals were killed at 6:52 p.m. on Jan. 22 on Interstate 80 east of Rawlins after officers were notified of a driver driving the wrong way on the interstate.
“Preliminary information has revealed that a Dodge Ram 3500 was headed east on Interstate 80 on the wrong side of the interstate. The Dodge collided with a commercial truck and a passenger car. As the Dodge truck collided with the passenger car, a driver of a second commercial truck attempted to avoid the approaching truck by driving into the median,” the release from Beck states. “This commercial truck exited the median and entered the eastbound travel lanes, where it collided head-on with a Ford F-150. The second commercial truck and passenger truck immediately became engulfed in flames.”
The five occupants of the F-150 were fatally injured during the accident. Other motorists involved in the collision were transported to hospitals with critical injuries.
“The driver of the Dodge, who was driving the wrong way, has been arrested on suspicion of impairment and may receive future charges as the investigation unfolds,” Beck concluded, noting that no further information would be released at this time due to the ongoing investigation.
Only one death was reported on Wyoming’s roadways in 2022, compared with eight in 2021 and three in 2020.
