LARAMIE, WY : Torrington man charged in crash on Friday, March 10th 2017

A 21-year-old Torrington man has been charged with vehicular homicide in connection with an early Friday accident that claimed the life of a passenger.

Nathan Pieper, 22, of Casper, died early Friday at a Laramie hospital from injuries sustained in the one-vehicle accident. Pieper was reportedly not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident and was ejected from the vehicle.

According to a release from the Wyoming State Patrol, Laramie police attempted to stop a 2002 Ford Mustang, driven by Tyler Lane of Torrington, early Friday morning. Lane reportedly eluded the officer, who discontinued pursuit over concerns about excessive speed within the city limits.

After the pursuit was discontinued, at about 3:10 a.m., Lane was reportedly attempting to negotiate an on-ramp onto westbound Interstate 80 at a high rate of speed when he lost control. According to the accident report, the vehicle struck a piece of wood, entered a slide, flipped and rolled.

Lane and a second passenger, Zachariah Pieper, 21, of Mitchell, Neb., were also not wearing seat belts at the time of the accident, the release said. They remained inside the car as it rolled. They were taken by ambulance to Ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie, where they were treated and released.

Lane has been arrested and booked in at the Albany County Detention Center in Laramie on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, driving while impaired, driving without a valid driver's license, failure to maintain a single lane of travel, unsafe tires and no seat belt. Additional charges may be pending from the Laramie Police Department.

This was the 12th highway fatality in Wyoming so far in 2017, the release said. There were 10 fatalities on Wyoming highways during the same period last year.

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Torrington man charged in crash