News
Driver Killed in Semi Wreck West of Buffalo
Published
2 years agoon
By
Aaron Palmer
The driver of a semi tractor-trailer was killed in a wreck Wednesday afternoon on Highway 16 West of Buffalo.
According to Wyoming Highway Patrol Lieutenant Erik Jorgensen, Javier Cardoso-Reyes, 47, of Katy, Texas was driving a semi, owned by CHGG Delivery, LLC of Katy, Texas, loaded with drill pipe.
At about noon, Cardoso-Reyes was coming down Highway 16 in Mosier Gulch, and was unable to slow the truck and trailer down and failed to negotiate a turn just past the runaway truck catch system.
Lt. Jorgensen.
The tractor-trailer rolled, tipped over the guardrail and continued down a rocky embankment into the bottom of Mosier Gulch coming to rest near Clear Creek.
Jorgensen said the trailer separated from the cab and the cab separated from the frame and engine compartment of the truck, which caught fire, causing a small grass fire near the wreck.
Cardoso-Reyes was found in the separated cab and was not involved in the fire, but was pronounced dead at the scene.
Fire units from Buffalo were dispatched and put the fire out quickly, according to Jorgensen.
The drill pipe on the trailer is scattered around the area of the wreck, and cleanup of the wreck and the load is being handled by Experts Towing of Buffalo.
Skip Crawford
August 18, 2022 at 11:20 am
I was heading west up by Lost Cabin and that truck was all over the road. He came into our lane while coming around the curve. I think he was having problems long before Mosier Gulch.
Alexander
August 21, 2022 at 3:56 pm
Mi querido amigo ..siento mucho tu partida…dios le de fuerza a tu familia y hijos…tu amigo Alex
Jenny Cardoso gispert
October 26, 2022 at 11:49 pm
This was my dad we actually never knew that this would just happen. My mom had call him before the accident he said that the hills were really dangerous and that the breaks were smoking, my sister told us that he had an accident.
Dorleen McBride
August 10, 2023 at 5:55 pm
To the family of Javier Cardoso-Reyes:
We were driving the same route that day pulling a small travel trailer and were behind Javier when he stopped at a pullout to check his load on the uphill climb. He got out of the cab to check the load of pipe and for some reason I took particular notice of him which was partly because of his neat attire, a colorful Hawaiian-looking shirt and jeans. Plus, having been behind him for several miles we had an inkling he was not comfortable with the road or his load. Neither was I having never driven Hwy 16 in WY.
We stopped at the summit for a lunch break and did not see him again. While stopped we noticed smoke up ahead coming from the canyon and when a motorist stopped to tell us the road was closed ahead due a semi-truck going over the side we knew in our gut & heart it was Javier’s truck.
Realizing we were likely the last people to see him alive had a profoundly sad effect on us. We stopped when we got to Buffalo, WY because we were too shaken up and grieved to drive any further. My husband contacted the Highway Patrol to offer them our observations of the times we had the truck in our view prior to the accident.
The sadness we felt for Javier and his family 7 friends stayed with us for days and I can still conjure up the glimpse I saw of him when he stopped and got out of the truck. I had saved this accident report in my laptop and I’m glad to have run across it today so I could express our sincere condolences. Interestingly, the accident was almost one year ago..which seems almost profhetic. Whether any of the family ever sees this I have a sense of peace having written it. God bless!
Dorleen & Wayne McBride
Ukiah, California