Truck Blown Over Onto Trooper's Car

Truck blown over onto trooper's car.

I hope that trooper is not in that car....but the dumbass also should have been in the left lane....at least he wouldn't have endangered the trooper.

People are stupid

From what I could see, he couldn't have gotten over because there where 2 cars right beside him and also my 2 cents is that if he hadn't found a place like a truck stop to pull over in, then he really could not have helped it. Just bad situation all around. Course I don't know if there where places before that point. I will say this, it looks like he could have been traveling a bit slower which may have stopped him from rolling over. I certainly hope him and the trooper are alright.

I watched that on my Weather Channel app last night. According to their voiceover, neither trooper (the one in the car that got squished or the one recording) were in their vehicles at the time.

When I see lights ahead, I put my flashers on and slow down for the left to pass me then get left. There was no reason he couldn't have done this. It might depend on visibility but no cop would ticket you for being in the left lane too long to allow a cop to do his job safely.

Sure wait til the last minute and you can't get over. He's an idiot either way.

When driving thru WY you need to keep updated on 511 and know where the stops are. Heck, I'd imagine a cop might ticket for off ramp parking, but telling him u have to stop so u don't kill anyone and getting a ticket is better than this.

No excuse.

I saw that scary video last night, too. Incredible!

I agree with Rainy...no attempt was made to move over into the left lane. With light traffic, no excuse for this.

Also notice the lack of other trucks on the road leading up to the crash. Fortunately the police car was not occupied. No injuries.

From the video description: "The video shows a semi truck driver traveling westbound on I-80 near Elk Mountain. A gust of wind suddenly blows the truck over on top of a police car, which was parked on the side of interstate responding to another crash.

"Our troopers were already in the same area working on two other semi trucks that had blown off the interstate," Wyoming Highway Patrol Lt. Kelly Finn tells EastIdahoNews.com. "Fortunately nobody was in the police car or it would have been a lot worse."

Finn says wind gusts were nearly 70 mph around 3 p.m. Tuesday when the crash occurred. A high wind advisory was in effect prohibiting commercial vehicles on I-80 between Rawlings and Laramie.

"We're seeing less and less compliance from these trucking companies when these wind advisories are out," Finn says. "They're in a hurry and taking chances and it's dangerous."

Wind advisories have been in place on this portion of I-80 for nearly two weeks, according to Finn. When gusts reach 40 mph, a high wind warning is posted. When gusts reach 60 mph, I-80 is closed to high profile vehicles.

"We've had wind gusts reach 90 mph and trucks are still out on the road," Finn says.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol on its Facebook page Friday morning. Within hours, it had been viewed nearly 800,000 times and shared over 27,000 times.

"All we ask is that you please follow high wind advisories and closures when you are traveling in our great state...even if you plan to travel at reduced speeds," the Facebook post reads. "Hopefully this video illustrates why."

Nobody was injured in the three semi crashes but Finn says it's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt if drivers continue to ignore warnings.

"I am so lucky right now that I have not lost two troopers," Finn explains. "We can't keep relying on luck. We have to get people to follow these advisories."

In other words, the driver was completely in the wrong for being on the road when it was closed to high profile vehicles. Yes, it's his job to check for high wind advisories before getting on the road, and if the wind comes up while driving, it's his job to stop and check if there's a wind advisory. There's no way he didn't notice 60 mph gusts, and I'm pretty sure I remember signs across the road in that stretch that will tell you there's a high wind advisory.

If you find yourself in that situation where you're driving and the wind suddenly comes up, the best thing you can do is pull off the road as soon as possible. If there are no exits coming up, then pull onto the shoulder as a last resort. If you can find a place that's somewhat protected from the wind, great; but if you can't, it's still better for your truck to blow over while it's parked on the shoulder than while you're driving down the road.

...And when you pull over find a way to put your nose or ass into the wind....

Now I am understanding where you Rainy are coming from, after Bud A. explained because I just thought that it was the cars beside him who kept him from moving over, but after reading I understand that, that trucker should have known that right from the start, that he should not have been driving. BUT I also understand that he could have gotten off the road. The only hard thing, would be, is how are you supposed to put your 3 reflective triangles out with that high of winds. DOT says you have to put it out after you have been parked for 10 min. Do you have any insight on how to do this?