The crash scene was certainly eye-catching, but a pair of Lovell area men were able to walk away from a one-vehicle rollover 12 miles south of Lovell on U.S. Highway 310 Monday morning.
Wyoming Highway Trooper Blain Mollett said a 2001 Ford F-350 truck owned and driven by Don Hatch was pulling a Haulmark enclosed cargo trailer carrying completed cabinets from Woodcraft Cabinets and Fixtures southbound in the area of Blue Hill when the trailer began to fishtail and pulled the truck into a roll.
Hatch and passenger Arthur Aagard were taking a load of cabinets to South Big Horn County Hospital between Greybull and Basin.
As the truck and trailer were coming down the south side of the first rise on Blue Hill, the trailer “started whipping on him,” Mollett said. Hatch tried a normal maneuver to accelerate and stabilize the trailer, but the trailer continued to fishtail and drew the truck and trailer into a broadside skid.
The truck rolled 1½ times as both the truck and trailer left the east side of the highway, Mollett said, noting that the truck came to rest on its top while the trailer flipped up with its back end down as the load shifted to the rear. The trailer dug into the dirt and pivoted one-half turn as cargo spilled along the highway.
Neither Hatch nor Aagard were wearing a seat belt, Mollett said, but there was no ejection and both men were able to extricate themselves from the truck. A roll bar prevented the full cab from crashing down on the two men, he added.
Both Hatch and Aagard were transported to North Big Horn Hospital, where they were treated and released.
Mollett said he cited both men for failure to wear a seat belt, but there were no other citations issued. He said speed was not a factor in the crash.