Nod-Off on I-80: Cheyenne Dump Truck Rollover Spurs Fresh Warning on Sleepy Driving

The original story by Doug Randall for KGAB AM 650.

A dump truck rolled on eastbound I-80 in Cheyenne just after daybreak Wednesday, and the Wyoming Highway Patrol is using the close call to hammer home a blunt message: driving on little sleep can be as dangerous as driving impaired.

Troopers say they were called at 7:22 a.m. on Oct. 29 to milepost 362, where a commercial dump truck had drifted to the right shoulder, clipped a jersey barrier on the passenger side, then tripped and rolled off the roadway. The driver told investigators he’d fallen asleep at the wheel. He was wearing a seat belt and walked away with minor injuries. No other vehicles were involved.

According to a post on WHP’s Facebook page, the driver was cited for Careless Driving along with multiple commercial violations after the on-scene investigation. The patrol framed the crash as a textbook example of how quickly fatigue turns routine miles into a wreck.

Why the warning matters: drowsy driving is a major, often hidden killer. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimates 17.6% of all fatal crashes (2017–2021) involved a sleepy driver. And the real number may be higher — unlike alcohol or drugs, there’s no roadside test that proves someone was too tired to drive, so fatigue frequently goes unrecorded.

What this crash shows is how subtle the slide can be. The truck didn’t appear to be speeding or weaving wildly; it drifted, tagged a barrier and flipped — a chain of events that takes seconds. WHP’s reminder is aimed at commuters and commercial drivers alike: if you’re yawning, missing exits, blinking hard, or catching yourself nudging the lane line, you’re already in the danger zone.

Experts say there’s no hack for sleep. Caffeine buys a short window at best; rolling down the window or cranking the radio is a myth. The reliable fixes are pulling over for a short nap, swapping drivers, or delaying the trip until you’ve had real rest. For fleets, that also means schedules that leave room for sleep and a culture that won’t punish a driver for admitting fatigue.

WHP’s takeaway after Wednesday’s rollover is simple: the driver was lucky. A seat belt and an empty lane meant only a truck rolled. The next tired drift on I-80 might not be so forgiving.