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Fiery Crash Of Two Semis Near Burns, Wyo, Claims Two Lives

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Courtesy WyDOT

      The Wyoming Highway Patrol says two people were killed and one injured shortly before dawn Saturday morning when two semis collided on Interstate 80 near Burns and caught fire.

      Killed were one of the drivers, 58-year-old Mark Nolte of Iowa and a passenger in one of the semis, 29-year-old Dion Hopkins Jr of California.   The condition and name of the second driver have not been released.

     The Highway Patrol says one of the semis was parked on the westbound shoulder westbound with the cab in the travel lane when it was hit by the second truck. 

      The collision caused both vehicles to burst into flames. I-80 westbound was closed and traffic detoured around the site for nearly 12 hours. 

     KNEB News in Scottsbluff reports video of the accident scene taken later in the day showed the fire totally consumed both vehicles.

      The Wyoming Highway Patrol says the investigation is continuing with driver inattention and equipment failure possible contributing factors to the crash.