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SALT LAKE CITY — A semitrailer driver that police say drifted into oncoming traffic, hitting and killing a Utah couple on their way to a hockey tournament in Denver with their two sons, has been arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide.
Bob Wight, 57, and his wife, Dawn, 46, were hit on U.S. 287 about 13 miles south of Laramie, Wyoming, on Thursday while driving a 2005 Chevy Uplander.
A commercial truck towing a trailer drifted into oncoming traffic, striking the Wights' vehicle head-on, according to a statement from the Wyoming Highway Patrol. The truck caught fire after the crash.
The truck driver, Charles Gibson, 58, of Midwest City, Oklahoma, was not injured.
"Driver fatigue is being investigated as the contributing factor in this crash. Gibson has been arrested and charged with vehicular homicide," the highway patrol said in a prepared statement.
The Wights' two boys, Kyle, 16, and Karsen, 13, were transported to a hospital in Denver. According to friends of the family, Kyle suffered a broken arm and broken leg, and Karsen was being treated for internal injuries.
The Wights were avid hockey fans and a big part of the Utah hockey community. Kyle plays for Brighton High School. Karsen, who goes to Eastmont Middle School, has played for several junior teams in Salt Lake City and Boise.
Friends say the Wights were known for going on road trips every weekend for a hockey tournament somewhere.
"This tragedy not only affects the Brighton hockey team but the entire Salt Lake and Boise hockey communities," the Utah Amateur Hockey Association wrote on its website.
Related:
Utah hockey community mourns deaths of Sandy couple
A grief-stricken hockey community is mourning the deaths of a Sandy father and mother killed while driving to Colorado for a hockey tournament in a crash that also injured their two sons.A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with the boys' medical expenses.
Bob and Dawn Wight were also longtime employees at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, working in conference operations for 20 years, according to a companywide email sent to employees.
"Bob and Dawn were very visible faces of the department over the years working so many events and were equally treasured in the local hockey community. Our condolences go out to the conference operations team and their many friends here at the resort," Snowbird General Manager Bob Bonar wrote in the email.
NHL center Trevor Lewis, a Salt Lake City native that has won two Stanley Cup trophies with the Los Angeles Kings, met with the two boys at the hospital in Denver on Monday. He posted a photo with them Monday night before the Kings were scheduled to play the Colorado Avalanche Tuesday.
Glad I got to meet Kyle and Karsen! Strong kids! #utahhockeypic.twitter.com/2OsxtYLb5d
— trevor lewis (@trevorlewis22) November 15, 2016
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