The driver of the car at left is loaded into an ambulance in the background Monday on U.S. Hwy. 26-85 west of Torrington. Interim Goshen County Sheriff Jeremy Wardell said witnesses reported the driver crossed the highway and struck the electrical pole, which snapped off at about the halfway point from the impact. The driver’s name was not immediately available and calls to the Wyoming Highway Patrol office in Wheatland requesting information on the accident were not returned as of press time.

UPDATE: The driver of a car that collided with an electrical pole June 24 west of Torrington has been identified.

Lt. Andrew Frye from the Wyoming Highway Patrol said William Harvey, 64, of Powell, was westbound on U.S. Hwy. 26-84 when his 1991 Ford Festiva left the roadway and struck the pole. Frye said Harvey told accident investigators he coughed and then sneezed in rapid succession, causing him to jerk the wheel to the right.

Described as talking and alert at the scene, Harvey was transported from the scene to Community Hospital in Torrington with reported chest injuries, probably from striking the steering wheel, Frye said. He was later flown by air ambulance to Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, Neb.

Harvey was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident and the car, which was totaled, did not have an airbag. Harvey was cited for failure to wear his seatbelt.