The trucker, Arthur Andrew Nelson, 57, from Limestone, Tennessee is charged with 11 crimes for the crash that killed 5 people on I-80 on Sunday, January 22, 2023, east of Rawlins, Wyoming. Nelson was driving the wrong way under the influence of drugs with a suspended driving license.
Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) reported that troopers were informed at 6:52 on Jan. 22. pm about a truck driving in the wrong direction on Interstate 80. The collision involving a wrong-way-driving truck and a FedEx truck occurred at 6:58 pm at mile marker 219 east of Rawlings, Wyoming, 280 miles southeast of Jackson Hole.
A Dodge Ram 3500 driven by Arthur Andrey Nelson (registered to him in West Jordan, Utah) was moving from Tennessee to Utah in the westbound of I-80 in the wrong direction. The Dodge Ram collated with a commercial truck and an Infinity SUV with passengers. After the first collision, the second driver of a FedEx MS Freight vehicle trayed to avoid collision with the truck by steering to the median and on the eastbound lanes of I-80. This vehicle crashed into Ford F-150 on eastbound. Both vehicles burst into flames.
In the Ford F-150, there were 5 students on the way home from Jackson Hole Bible College in Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Arkansas. Susana Prime, 18, and Ava Luplow, 18 were high school students. Andrea Prime, 23, Salomon Correa, 21, and Maggie Franco, 20, were former students. Ava Lupllow was ejected from the Ford. Police stated that she was the first to be identified.
Police investigation revealed that Nelson was driving with a suspended license due to a DUI.
Nelson was transported to a local hospital for examination. It was determined that he was driving under the influence of drugs. Nelson admitted that he consumed methamphetamine the day before the crash.
Susanne and Andrea Prime’s father stated that one of his daughters had an iPhone with App that should send an alert if she is in a suspected car crash. He received this alert on Sunday night. Both sisters were working at The Humble Crumb Bakery in Sherwood.
Arthur Andrew Nelson is charged with 5 felony aggravated homicide by vehicle due to a DUI and 6 felony charges for a DUI with serious bodily injury. There are 5 charges for misdemeanors (2 counts of reckless endangerment, 1 count of reckless driving, 1 count of driving in the wrong way on a divided highway, and one count of driving under a suspended license).
His first appearance on the Carbon County Circuit Court was on Wednesday, Feb.1.
Nelson is in police custody and the bond is $500,000.
The maximum penalty for felony aggravated homicide by vehicle is 20 years in prison or $10,000. The maximum penalty for a DUI with a controlled substance with serious bodily injury is 10 years in prison and a fine from $2000 to $5000.
Nelson was wanted on a previous warrant on charges of speeding, failing to maintain his lane, and having no valid license.
