HUDSON, Wyo. — A Wyoming man is dead after losing control and rolling off a state highway in Fremont County in the early morning on Friday. The man, 42-year-old Jeffrey Montez, was reportedly not wearing a seatbelt.
The incident occurred along Wyoming Highway 789 in Fremont County near the community of Hudson between Lander and Riverton. The closest mile marker to the site of the fatal crash, according to the Wyoming Department of Transportation, was milepost 92.5.
The responding agency, the Wyoming Highway Patrol, pieced together the following narrative of the crash:
Montez was commuting north toward Riverton at 6:37 a.m. Friday, April 4 when snowy and slushy conditions caused him to lose control of his vehicle. His Chevrolet van began rotating clockwise and forced him off the road toward the right, according to the WHP.
Coming off the road, Montez drove straight into the lane’s adjacent borrow ditch and began a rollover off of the driver’s side of the vehicle. The WHP estimates that the car rolled over twice before settling back on its wheels facing south.
Montez was not wearing his seatbelt, which likely contributed to his death. Other possible contributing factors include — on top of snowy and slushy roads — falling snow and the speed at which he was traveling.
Montez and his vehicle were the only party involved in the crash, and no one else was hurt.
This story contains preliminary information as provided by the Wyoming Highway Patrol via the Wyoming Department of Transportation Fatal Crash Summary map. The agency advises that information may be subject to change.
