Teen arrested in fatal hit and run

RIVERTON (WNE) — A juvenile male was taken into custody during Lander’s wrestling invite on Friday after allegedly being involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash in Thermopolis earlier that morning. 

Bernadine Blacketer, 85, was crossing the street on the 700 block of Arapahoe at 6:55 a.m. on January 24 when she was struck and killed by a GMC Yukon headed east. 

According to the Wyoming Highway Patrol, driver inattention may have been a contributing factor in the crash. 

The driver did not stop or render aid to the victim, according to Thermopolis Police Chief Pat Cornwell, and the department asked residents with surveillance cameras for assistance in identifying the fleeing driver. 

A short time later, Cornwell indicated the driver had been located. 

The Lander Police Department was called to Lander Valley High School on Friday at 8:58 a.m. on a report that a wrestler for the Thermopolis Bobcats was involved in the morning incident and should be taken into custody.