A man who was killed Wednesday after being struck by a semi truck is now believed to have purposely jumped in front of the oncoming rig.
26-year-old Kyle Waters was struck and killed by a semi truck in the middle of Interstate 80 on Wednesday, October 25th at approximately 7:30 a.m. in Evanston, Wyoming.
According to the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Waters left his parents’ home in Eagle, Idaho last week to take “a break” before he called his parents to Evanston, Wyoming, saying he needed their help.
On Wednesday morning, Waters and his parents checked into a Hampton Inn in Evanston. At approximately 9 a.m., Waters and his mother went out to the car to retrieve something, and that’s when Waters took off, reported Unita County Herald.
Waters ran away from his mother and onto I-80, crossing the westbound lanes and stopping in the median. He then saw a semi truck approaching from the eastbound side and ran onto the interstate to lay down in its path.
The tractor trailer was then unable to stop and struck Waters, killing him on site.
The truck driver, Cade Jasperson, was not injured in the incident.
The investigation into the incident is being handled as a suicide.
“He was suffering from some mental issues like schizophrenia, depression, along those lines,” said Wyoming Highway Patrol Lt. Matt Arnell.
No one was cited in the incident.
The eastbound lanes of I-80 were shut down for approximately 30 minutes as officials investigated the incident. They have since been reopened.