A man who drove the wrong way down Interstate 80, triggering a multi-car pileup that killed five people and injured four more, will face additional charges, officials said Tuesday.
Arthur Andrew Nelson, 57, of West Jordan, Utah, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of driving while under the influence.
He will face additional, unidentified charges, said highway patrol spokesperson Sgt. Jeremy Beck.
Nelson was expected to make an initial appearance in Carbon County Circuit Court on Wednesday, when his charges would be made public, said Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken.
Nelson was driving a Dodge Ram 3500 east on the wrong side of the interstate near Rawlins when he struck a commercial truck and passenger car, the Wyoming Highway Patrol said.
As the Dodge collided with the car, the driver of a second commercial vehicle tried to avoid the approaching pickup by driving in the median.
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In the process of avoiding the initial crash, that second truck entered the eastbound lanes, where it collided head-on with the five young adults inside the Ford F-150. Both of those vehicles then burst into flames.
Four other people suffered injuries ranging from non-serious to critical, the highway patrol said.
The five young people who died were identified as students and recent graduates of Sylvan Hills High School in central Arkansas — Suzy Prime, her sister Andrea Prime, Ava Grace Luplow, Salomon Correa and Maggie Franco.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol initially said Nelson was from Limestone, Tennessee. However, he is actually believed to be from West Jordan, Utah.
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