Man pleads not guilty of aggravated vehicular homicide

Fletcher faces a possible maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a $10,300 fine.

The case

According to the Wyoming Highway Patrol affidavit, troopers responded to a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 80 east of Rock Springs on June 28, 2016. The Ford Explorer Fletcher was driving had left the right-hand side of the road near mile marker 97 and impacted the face of the box beam, sliding along it for a distance. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

Upon arrival, troopers found Fletcher kneeling on the side of the road holding his 8-year-old daughter’s head in his lap and crying. She and her twin sister were transported to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, where the one girl was pronounced dead. The crash team that investigated the wreck determined the girl had impacted the windshield before being thrown into the rear seat. The other girl sustained minor injuries, the affidavit states.

A chemical test of Fletcher’s blood allegedly showed the presence of methamphetamine, amphetamine and alparzolam (Xanax).

Toxicologist Stacey Hail reviewed the blood samples. She noted alprazolam and meth “are known to impair driving.”

Investigators allegedly learned from Fletcher that the girls had not been in booster seats and were sharing the front passenger seat at the time of the crash. There also were no skid marks on the road, indicating Fletcher did not brake prior to leaving the pavement, according to court documents.

Fletcher allegedly told a trooper he took Diazepam in the early morning hours before the crash, as well as another half pill of Diazepam, half a Lamictal pill, two Prednizone and an inhaler with a steroid in it later that same morning. Diazepam is a central nervous system depressant and a schedule V controlled substance as defined by Wyoming state statute. Lamictal is an anticonvulsant and Prednizone is a synthetic corticosteroid.

According to the affidavit, Trooper Andrew Frye found Fletcher’s most recently-filled prescription was for Oxycodone HCL-Acetaminophen on Feb. 27, 2016. He also noted Fletcher had “an extensive prescription history” according to the Wyoming prescription registry.