COLLISION KILLS 8 WYO. ATHLETES DRIVER OF SECOND VEHICLE REMAINS IN INTENSIVE CARE FOLLOWING SUNDAY'S CRASH

Rocky Mountain News
Monday, September 17, 2001
Author: Todd Hartman and Karen Abbott News Staff Writers 

Eight University of Wyoming athletes were killed and a ninth was in intensive care Sunday after an early morning head-on collision just north of the Colorado border. 

University officials said the students who died were members of the school's cross country and track teams, and a friend of one victim said the group had traveled to Fort Collins to buy running shoes. 

They were in a 1990 Jeep Wagoneer traveling north about 1:30 a.m. on U.S. 287, 17 miles south of Laramie near Tie Siding. The Jeep collided with a southbound 1995 Chevrolet pickup driven by Clinton Haskins, 21, of Maybell. Authorities said the 1-ton pickup apparently crossed into the northbound lane. 

Haskins, a senior majoring in agricultural business, is a steer wrestler on the rodeo team. He was in intensive care Sunday at Ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie, university officials said. 

The seven passengers in the Jeep were ejected, but the driver was not. All eight students in the Jeep died at the scene. 

Only Haskins was wearing a seat belt, police said. 

On campus, red-eyed students streamed from a campus chapel Sunday evening after a Mass to mourn victims of Tuesday's terrorist attacks was suddenly combined into a service for the student athletes who died. 

``It's been one of the most awful weeks any of us have ever lived through,'' said senior Tim Woznick, standing on the steps of his Sigma Chi fraternity house with friends after the Mass. 

At the athletic center, near the school's basketball arena and football stadium, student athletes received the news in 17 private, team-by-team meetings Sunday night. They, along with coaches, were kept off-limits to reporters. 

As they emerged from behind closed doors, several had looks of disbelief. Some female athletes walked away arm in arm, sobbing. 

``What a terrible way to start off the school year,'' student George Marus said. The past week, the second of the fall semester, was the time for freshmen to choose fraternities and sororities.It's usually a festive period. 

``It all seems pretty trivial now,'' Marus said. 

At the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house where one victim resided, flowers, cards and photographs of good times adorned a table near the entrance. Students milled about, many crying softly and embracing. 

Already reeling from the events of the week, Sigma Phi Epsilon alum Randy Blower said, ``I don't know if there's many more tears to shed.'' 

Then he cried some more. 

Many students returning to campus after a weekend away were only beginning to find out the news Sunday evening. From the athletic center to the student union to the dormitories, students wiped away tears, stunned at the barrage of bad news. 

``We have had enough on this campus the last few years; from the hate crime (against Matthew Shepard) to the Tuesday massacre and now this,'' said Sameer Pathak, a graduate business student from India. ``I am so sorry to hear about this.'' 

Pathak was studying in the nearly empty student center when he logged on to the Internet and checked the university's Web page, where he learned about the accident. As he read it, he told a friend who stopped by. Her eyes widened in grief. 

``We already have a healing wall (in the student center) for all the people to write their messages (about the terrorist attacks),'' Pathak said. ``We don't need another one.'' 

University officials identified the dead as: Justin M. Lambert-Belanger, 20, of Timmins, Ontario, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences; Cody B. Brown , 21, of Hudson, a senior psychology major; Kyle N. Johnson, 20, of Riverton, Wyo., a junior civil engineering major; Joshua D. Jones, 22, of Salem, Ore., a senior psychology major; Morgan J. McLeland, 21, of Gillette, Wyo., a junior majoring in social sciences / secondary education; Kevin L. Salverson, 19, of Cheyenne, a sophomore; Nicholas J. Schabron, 20, the driver, of Laramie, a sophomore majoring in architectural engineering; and Shane E. Shatto, 19, of Douglas, Wyo., a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering. 

The crash is under investigation. 

A candlelight vigil for the victims is scheduled for 6 p.m. today at Fraternity Park on campus. A formal university memorial service will be planned later. 

MAN FACES CHARGES IN CRASH THAT KILLED 8

Rocky Mountain News
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Author: Hector Gutierrez News Staff Writer 

Prosecutors charged a Colorado man with vehicular homicide Tuesday after a crash that killed eight University of Wyoming cross-country runners. They allege that the man was intoxicated. 

Albany County Prosecutor Cal Rerucha filed eight counts of aggravated homicide by vehicle against Clinton Guy Haskins, 21, of Maybell in Moffat County. 

Haskins, a senior at the University of Wyoming, was the only survivor of the head-on collision that occurred early Sunday when Haskins' southbound pickup drifted into the northbound lane of U.S. 287 south of Laramie. Haskins was in fair and stable condition Tuesday in Laramie. 

According to the felony charges, Haskins allegedly operated his truck early Sunday ``in a reckless manner in violation of Wyoming law, while intoxicated to a degree which rendered him incapable of safely driving a motor vehicle.'' 

Killed were Cody Brown , 21, of Hudson; Shane Shatto, 19, the driver, of Douglas, Wyo.; Justin Lambert-Belanger, 20, of Ontario, Canada; Kyle Johnson, 20, of Riverton, Wyo.; Joshua Jones, 22, of Salem, Ore.; Morgan McLeland, 21, of Gillette, Wyo.; Kevin Salverson, 19, of Cheyenne; and Nicholas Schabron, 20, of Laramie. 

DRIVER IN FATAL CRASH TAKEN TO JAIL

Rocky Mountain News
Friday, September 21, 2001
Author: Ellen Miller Special to the News 

DRIVER IN FATAL CRASH TAKEN TO JAILRocky Mountain News (CO) - Friday, September 21, 2001
Author: Ellen Miller Special to the News
A young northwestern Colorado man who was the sole survivor of a traffic crash that killed eight University of Wyoming students was released from a Wyoming hospital Thursday and taken directly to jail. 

Authorities have charged Clinton Haskins, 21, of Maybell with eight counts of vehicular homicide in the collision early Sunday morning south of Laramie. 

He is being held in the Albany County Jail in Laramie on $100,000 bail and is to appear in county court this morning for advisement of the charges against him, according to a secretary in the office of County Attorney Cal Rerucha. 

Haskins had been undergoing treatment at Ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie for injuries he suffered when his pickup crashed head-on into an SUV containing the Wyoming students. 

Court records state Haskins drove his truck ``in a reckless manner in violation of Wyoming law, while intoxicated to a degree which rendered him incapable of safely driving a motor vehicle.'' 

Killed in the crash were Nicholas Schabron, the driver of the vehicle carrying the victims; Justin Lambert-Belanger, Kyle Johnson, Kevin Salverson, Shane Shatto, Joshua Jones, CodyBrown and Morgan McLeland. 

DRIVER IN WYO. CRASH TO STAND TRIAL COLORADO MAN FACES 8 COUNTS OF VEHICULAR HOMICIDE IN DEATHS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Rocky Mountain News
Thursday, September 27, 2001
Author: Deborah Frazier News Staff Writer 

Clinton Haskins was traveling 76 mph - 11 mph over the speed limit - driving drunk and with an expired license Sept. 16 when he crossed the center stripe on a rural highway about 1:30 a.m. and killed eight people, Albany County Attorney Cal Rerucha said Wednesday. 

``One after another, law enforcement officers go to the bodies,'' Rerucha said at the start of the 3 1/2-hour preliminary hearing. ``It looked like a nightmare. Each man they find is dead.'' 

The crash was the worst highway fatality in Wyoming history, Rerucha said. 

At the end of the hearing, Haskins, 21, of Maybell, was ordered to stand trial on eight counts of aggravated homicide by a vehicle, his white half-ton pickup truck. 

No trial date was set, and Haskins, who is free on a $100,000 bond, has not entered a plea. 

The University of Wyoming senior sat stoically through the hearing. His parents, girlfriend, grandparents and more than 10 friends sat behind him and comforted him during breaks. 

Nicholas Schabron, 20, of Laramie, was the ``designated driver'' of the other car, a 1990 Jeep Wagoneer. No drugs or alcohol were found in his blood. Rerucha said Schabron had told his mother his job that day was to get his friends home safely. 

Tests showed Schabron was traveling 62 mph, under the 65-mph speed limit on that area of the winding highway through the rolling hills near Tie Siding, Wyo. 

The eight men killed were on the UW track and cross country teams and were northbound on Highway 287. They were headed back to Laramie after a trip to Fort Collins to buy running shoes and sample the night life. 

Haskins, who according to witnesses at a University of Wyoming rodeo team gathering, had ``a couple beers.'' Prosecutors and witnesses added Haskins was headed to Fort Collins in an effort to patch up a troubled relationship with his girlfriend. 

Schabron, the only person in the Jeep wearing a seat belt, was killed. The others were thrown from the vehicle. Haskins was wearing a seat belt and still was in his truck when police arrived. 

Also killed were: Joshua D. Jones, 22, of Salem, Ore.; Kevin L. Salverson, 19, of Cheyenne; Shane E. Shatto, 19, of Douglas, Wyo.; Morgan J. McLeland, 21, of Gillette, Wyo.; Kyle N. Johnson, 20, of Riverton, Wyo.; Justin M. Lambert-Belanger, 20, of Timmins, Ontario; and Cody B. Brown , 21, of Hudson.. 

Haskins' blood alcohol level was 0.16 percent, Rerucha said. In Wyoming, a reading over 0.10 is classified as driving while intoxicated. And, Rerucha said, ``he lied when he was asked if he was the driver.'' 

Mike Krampner, Haskins' attorney, challenged that. He said Haskins gave that reply when he was in the ambulance and answered truthfully that he was not the driver of the ambulance. He also said Haskins earlier told others at the scene he was the driver of the truck. 

Phil Farman, a 12-year veteran of the Wyoming State Patrol, testified that the left side of the Jeep was sheared off and skid marks indicated that the Jeep driver had tried to avoid the collision. He said gouges in the road indicate that the crash occurred in the northbound lane, indicating Haskins was in the wrong lane. 

``The Jeep disintegrated,'' Farman said. 

After Haskins was pulled from the truck and put on a gurney in the ambulance, patrolman Dave Rettinger said ``the smell of alcohol was overwhelming'' on Haskins and in the ambulance. Haskins spent several days in the hospital recovering from his injuries. 

Krampner challenged Rettinger's recollection of the alcohol scent because Rettinger said Haskins had no visible injuries while, in fact, his face was injured. 

Rettinger said he was unable to get a blood sample from Haskins at the scene because the county ambulances refuse to take samples unless the person consents. Haskins refused permission until he reached the hospital. 

DRIVER PLEADS GUILTY IN STUDENTS' DEATHS

Rocky Mountain News
Friday, February 8, 2002
Author: Dick Foster News Southern Bureau 

A University of Wyoming student changed his plea to guilty Thursday, admitting he was driving drunk when he caused the head-on collision that killed eight fellow students last fall. 

``If I had not drove, they would be alive,'' Clinton Haskins , 21, of Maybell said on the witness stand during his plea hearing in a Laramie courtroom Thursday. 

``They'' were eight members of the University of Wyoming cross-country and track teams. They were killed about 1:30 a.m. Sept. 16 when Haskins ' one-ton pickup swerved into their path on U.S. 287 and collided head-on with their Jeep Cherokee, just north of the Colorado border. 

The athletes were driving back from Fort Collins. All eight died at the scene. 

Haskins was charged with eight counts of vehicular homicide. Tests showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.16, well above the 0.10 level defined by state law as being intoxicated. 

Haskins testified that he had been drinking with friends the night of the wreck and decided to drive to Fort Collins. He was hospitalized for injuries for four days after the accident but jailed immediately upon his release. He was later released on $100,000 bail. 

Haskins , a steer wrestler on the university rodeo team who was majoring in agribusiness, will face 14 to 20 years in prison under his plea agreement if his guilty plea is accepted. 

District Judge Jeffrey A. Donnell has ordered a background check on Haskins and reserved the right to reject the plea. 

Haskins ' family and friends were in the courtroom along with relatives of the victims. 

Killed in the crash were Justin Lambert-Belanger, 20, of Timmins, Ontario; Cody Brown, 21, of Hudson, Colo.; Kyle Johnson, 20, of Riverton, Wyo.; Joshua Jones, 22, of Salem, Ore.; Morgan McLeland, 21, of Gillette, Wyo.; Kevin Salverson, 19, of Cheyenne; Nicholas Schabron, 20, of Laramie; and Shane Shatto, 19, of Douglas, Wyo. 

DRIVER IN FATAL CRASH SEEKS REDUCED TERM

Rocky Mountain News
Wednesday, June 4, 2003 

Maybell resident Clinton Haskins , who was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for a drunken driving collision that killed eight University of Wyoming athletes, is seeking a reduced sentence. 

Albany County court officials in Laramie said a hearing on the motion will be held July 18 at 1:30 p.m. 

Haskins was driving on Sept. 16, 2001, when his pickup hit a van carrying eight students south of Laramie. His blood-alcohol level was 0.16 percent.