A Wyoming man is dead after being thrown from his motorcycle after hitting a curb, the Wyoming Highway Patrol says.

The crash happened around 4:44 p.m. on Sunday, May 21, near the intersection of Sunset Drive (Interstate 80 Service Road) and Interchange Road in Rock Springs.

Wyoming Highway Patrol | Canva
Wyoming Highway Patrol | Canva
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According to a fatality crash summary, 71-year-old Thomas Crumpton failed to negotiate a left-hand curve, causing his motorcycle to travel upon some gravel on the shoulder and rotate clockwise.

The motorcycle then collided with a curb, causing Crumpton to separate from the bike.

Crumpton, who was not wearing a helmet, was reportedly taken to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, where he passed away on Tuesday, May 23.

The summary says driver inattention possibly contributed to the deadly crash.

Crumpton is the first motorcyclist to die on Wyoming's highways this year.

According to his obituary, Crumpton was a resident of Rock Springs for 44 years and a former resident of Montana and Alabama.

He served in the Army during Vietnam and was honorably discharged, and was a coal miner for more than 30 years before retiring in 1994.

Fatal Crash in Downtown Casper on May 23

2022's Deadliest Wyoming County by Traffic Deaths

While car crashes can occur anywhere, some roads in Wyoming are more dangerous than others.

According to Wyoming Highway Patrol data, there were 117 fatal crashes in the Cowboy State in 2022 resulting in 133 deaths.

Of those fatal crashes, the majority (13.68%) occurred in Laramie County -- two in January, one in February, one in March, two in April, one in June, two in July, three in August, two in September, one in November, and one in December.

Sweetwater County saw the second most fatal crashes last year, 12, while Fremont and Lincoln counties each saw 10.

Albany and Park counties each recorded eight, and Campbell, Converse, and Natrona counties each tallied seven.

The deadliest 2022 crash in Laramie County took place on June 17 when two semis collided on Interstate 80 east of Cheyenne and immediately became engulfed in flames killing both drivers and a passenger.



Laramie County also saw two fatal crashes involving motorcyclists, two fatal crashes involving juveniles, and a fatal crash involving a pedestrian last year.

Below is the Wyoming Highway Patrol narrative of every fatal crash that occurred in Laramie County in 2022.

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