Rollover vehicle winds up in family’s yard

A pair of 19-year-olds were able to avoid major injuries in a one-vehicle rollover Monday night thanks to driving at a relatively slow speed and wearing their seatbelts, Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper Blain Mollett reported Tuesday.

James Rodriguez, 19, of Lovell was driving a 2005 Ford Explorer Monday with his passenger Brittany Rivera, 19, at his side on U.S. 14A about two miles west of the Oasis Junction when, at around 9:30 p.m. the vehicle left the highway and rolled.

Mollett said the Explorer was traveling east toward Lovell when the right wheels dug into deep snow on the side of the highway and the vehicle was pulled off the road. He said the vehicle “fully left the road” and rolled one-half turn, coming to rest on its top and sliding down an embankment toward the home of Kieley and Natalie Collins, coming to rest in the front yard of the Collins home against a pole.

“It’s about a 12-foot drop (from the highway),” Mollett said. “He wasn’t driving fast, around 50 (mph). He just got into the deep snow. They were wearing their seatbelts.”

Rodriguez was transported to North Big Horn Hospital as a precaution and was treated and released, Mollett said. No citations were issued, but the Explorer is likely totaled, he said, with roof damage.