According to information provided by the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP), a 22-year old female was involved in a crash in the early morning hours on March 13 that involved an area day care in Thayne. 

“The individual was at the bar the night prior and went to an Air B&B to hang out before driving home,” said WHP Trooper Mike Merritt. “Initial estimates were that she was driving at about 70 miles per hour but after further investigation the vehicle was going approximately 62 miles per hour when it hit the building.”

The driver was coming into Thayne in the southbound lane when the 2024 Volkswagen Atlas she was driving crossed the curb in front of the Dollar Store, traveled through a snow bank and also hit the concrete base of a sign for the day care before careening into the porch of the building and rotated 180-degrees and bounced off the wall. 

It is believed that these obstacles decreased the speed of the vehicle before the impact with the building. 

The driver then called a family member who took her from the scene and informed law enforcement approximately 30 minutes later. 

“This is in essence, a hit and run,” Merritt added. “The driver has been originally charged with a DUI, Fleeing the Scene of an Accident, Failure to Maintain Lane and Property Destruction of at least $1,000 which is a felony in Wyoming.”

The driver spent the weekend in the county jail. The incident is still under investigation. Other potential charges could still be pending. 

• ‘This valley has an alcohol problem’

While this particular account was the most destructive of the most recent weekend, there were multiple DUI arrests in the past several days. In recent interviews Sheriff Shane Johnson spoke to SVI about officers making DUI arrests in the morning or late afternoon on a regular basis. 

Trooper Merritt echoed those sentiments. 

“Our valley has an alcohol problem,” he said. “Especially with driving. If you have a drink please be responsible. Your life could change dramatically.”

In the case of this most recent accident the repercussions are still being discovered. A local building owner is still determining the damage as they inspect the structure. The day care business is no longer able to function and those children and families who were counting on the option this week had to look elsewhere.  

“These decisions don’t affect just you, they have a ripple effect,” Merritt continued. It’s not just this one person’s choice. It affects so many other people. There are resources available in this valley for people with this problem but they have to make that choice.” 

“It was a big surprise,” replied Lorell Wooley, owner of the building in Thayne. I have to compliment our highway patrol and the sheriff for their professionalism. They informed us at about 3:30 a.m. and it was kind of a shock. It was disappointing because we had just finished putting that porch on in November.”

Mr. Wooley expressed gratitude for the lack of injuries and the timing of the accident.  

“The biggest thing and the most important thing is that we were glad no one was hurt,” he stated. “That was our biggest concern including the young lady who was in the accident. We are grateful she is well and we are also grateful this didn’t happen in the daytime. Everything else can be fixed. It has had impact on the day care. It’s sad because it’s out of their control but we appreciate the help that has been given. The day care is reopening this week with permission from the state fire marshall and the insurance companies.”

While Sheriff Johnson stopped short of saying there are more DUI instances, he stated that it continues to be an issue. 

“The best way to answer is we are seeing way too many instances of impaired driving,” he said. “In terms of law enforcement, we try and examine the three E’s. Environment, Education and Enforcement. I’m not of the opinion that people think it’s okay to drink and drive, but they are not taking it as seriously as it needs to be because of serious consequences of injury, death and property damage. An arrests costs thousands of dollars in missed work. This still does not get the attention that it needs as a serious community problem.”

Johnson also added that additional planning should be part of an outing that will include drinking.

“One challenge we have is there is lack of alternative transportation,” he replied. There is no Uber you can call so you have to plan ahead. It is one of the crimes that the possibility exists that you are going to ruin lives and have serious financial issues. In an ideal world there wouldn’t be any, but we will keep looking for them.”