A Sunday morning drive turned tragic on July 27 when a rollover crash on I-25 near Douglas claimed the life of 21-year-old Braeden Rayner. Rayner, a Wyoming resident, was a passenger in a Chevy Suburban that flipped while heading north around 11:10 a.m.
According to preliminary reports from WYDOT and the Wyoming Highway Patrol, the SUV drifted off the road to the left near mile marker 144. The driver tried to steer back onto the highway but overcorrected to the right. That caused the vehicle to lean, trip, and roll twice before landing upright in the middle of the interstate.
Rayner wasn’t wearing a seat belt, authorities said. His injuries proved fatal at the scene. The three others in the vehicle survived but were hurt—no word yet on the severity of their injuries or whether they were buckled up.
While the exact cause is still under investigation, officials believe driver fatigue may have played a role. Road and weather conditions weren’t considered contributing factors.
This crash marks Wyoming’s 68th road death of the year—already surpassing the totals seen by this point in 2021, 2022, and 2024. For comparison, 2023 had 80 fatalities by the end of July, making it the deadliest year in recent memory with a final toll of 144.
The original story by Garrett Grochowski for Oil City News.
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