Accident Blocks West First and Poplar Streets Downtown
Police and Fire-EMS responded to a two-vehicle crash which occurred at the intersection of First and Poplar Streets just west of downtown Casper on Thursday afternoon.
Casper Police Sgt. Dan Dundas told K2 Radio News that injuries were minimal. The driver of a red Lincoln SUV was removed from the vehicle by firefighters and placed into the back of an ambulance, which then left the area.
It did not appear that anyone in the second vehicle -- a white Volkswagen SUV -- was injured, though police could not immediately confirm the number of people involved and/or injured in the crash.
The Lincoln ended up near the curb on the south side of First Street, pointed eastbound. The Volkswagen went over a guardrail, its rear tires still on the pavement, but most of the vehicle came to rest on a grassy area near the derrick at the southwest corner of the intersection.
Dundas told K2 Radio News that the Lincoln had evidently been eastbound on West First Street, and the Volkswagen had been westbound on West First Street when it made a left-hand turn onto southbound Poplar.
Witnesses could not confirm for police which driver had the right-of-way. Both drivers claimed that they had the right-of-way when the crash occurred. Dundas said officers would follow up with additional witnesses to try and determine what the traffic signal displayed at the time of the crash.
Traffic was initially snarled as first responders tended to the scene. As of 2:30 p.m., the Volkswagen had been taken by a tow truck, and a second tow truck had arrived to begin removing the Lincoln.
Traffic flow had improved considerably as of 2:30 p.m., and first responders had largely cleared the area.