Unidentified Man Dead After Commercial Truck Crashes, Catches Fire Near Gillette [UPDATED]

UPDATE:

The dead man has been identified as 63-year-old Steven Jewett of Moorcroft, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

Original Story:

The driver of a commercial truck that crashed and caught fire east of Gillette on Saturday may have been dead before his truck hit two propane tanks.

Investigating troopers say the driver, a man whose identity has not yet been verified by the Campbell County Coroner's Office, experienced a medical issue and died before the crash, according to a news release from the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

The crash, which happened at about 12:45 p.m. Saturday roughly seven miles east of Gillette on Wyoming State Highway 51, shut down the highway for about four hours.

The Patrol says a 1990 Peterbilt commercial truck towing a trailer was eastbound on WY 51 when it went into the westbound lane, hit a guardrail in the north ditch and hit two separate propane tanks as well as a storage shed.

The truck and one propane tank caught fire. The driver remained in the truck during the fire.

Troopers and the county coroner's office are still trying to identify the man.

If he died of a medical condition before the crash and ensuing fire, the man's death would not be classified as a fatal crash per federal guidelines.