Wyoming Highway Patrol hopes this dramatic video of a semi-trailer tipping over and smashing a patrol car will remind drivers to heed heavy wind warnings and closures.
Video was captured Tuesday February 7, 2017 from another Wyoming Highway Patrol cruiser on I-80 near Elk Mountain, Wyoming, as three troopers responded to assist drivers who were involved in other crashes along I-80.
According to Wyoming Highway Patrol’s official Facebook page, those three troopers were outside of their vehicles and not injured when heavy winds caused a semi-trailer truck passing by to fall on its right side and crush a patrol car parked in the emergency lane shoulder. The semi-trailer’s two occupants also escaped without injury.
Wind speeds were over 30 mph most of the day Wednesday February 7, 2017. Winds were from the west southwest and southwest during daylight hours.
Between 2:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. steady winds ranged from 36 mph to 52 mph with gusts as high as 67 mph at 9:50 p.m. Gusts were near 50 mph or greater from 1:00 p.m. to midnight. Gusts above 60 mph occurred from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 7, 2017.
“All we ask is that you please follow high wind advisories and closures when you are traveling in our great state. Even if you plan to travel at reduced speeds. Hopefully this video illustrates why,” Wyoming Highway Patrol’s Facebook post said.
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