On September 16, 2001, eight members of the University of Wyoming cross-country team — Justin Lambert-Belanger, Cody Brown, Kyle Johnson, Joshua Jones, Morgan McLeland, Kevin Salverson, Nicholas Schabron, and Shane Shatto — were driving back from Fort Collins, Colorado. Sometime after midnight, a pickup driven by another UW student crossed the center line on Hwy 287, slamming head-on into the Jeep carrying the runners.
All eight young men were killed. It was the worst single loss of life, resulting from a vehicle crash, in the state’s history.
This shocking incident received very little national attention, but the loss was deeply felt throughout Wyoming. On September 16, 2011, Governor Matt Mead signed an Executive Order establishing the Governor’s Council on Impaired Driving whose mission is to increase awareness, enforcement, and treatment of impaired driving in Wyoming through strong, collaborative partnerships with public, private and non-profit organizations, as well as serving as a forum for research, discussion, and planning to reduce incidences of impaired driving in Wyoming.