Two members of a south Jefferson County family on a vacation to Yellowstone were killed and three others in the family were injured in a head-on crash Tuesday in central Wyoming.
It was their first family trip since their husband and father died in September, friends said.
A Wyoming man was injured.
Kathleen Seidler, 53, and Joel B. Seidler, 19, were killed in the crash at 7:49 p.m. on U.S. 20/26 about 65 miles west of Casper when the 2005 Dodge van they were in collided with a 2005 Chevrolet pickup driven by Michael P. Paslay, 47, of Ethete, Wyo., a dispatcher for the Wyoming Highway Patrol reported.
According to witnesses, Paslay possibly fell asleep and the truck drifted into the eastbound lane, said a Highway Patrol report of the accident.
Heidi Seidler, 26, who was driving the van, Jessica Seidler, 23, and Charity Seidler, 17, all were taken to Wyoming Medical Center in Casper. Jessica Seidler was in critical condition, and the other two were stable, according to The Associated Press.
Paslay was taken to Riverton Memorial Hospital and was in stable condition, The AP said.
The Seidler home is in the 5500 block of South Kline Court in unincorporated Jefferson County. Heidi Seidler lives in Lakewood.
Charity Seidler just graduated from Beth Eden Baptist School; Heidi Seidler recently completed nursing school; and Jessica Seidler is a teacher, neighbors said.
Friends and neighbors described the Seidlers as quiet but friendly.
Kathleen Seidler’s husband, Tom, died in September, two weeks after being diagnosed with stomach cancer, said Mike Sisbarro, a neighbor.
“They were all very close,” Sisbarro said of the Seidlers.
Neighbor Martin Reetz said: “It was the first trip they had gone on since her husband died. … Kathy was really looking forward to this trip.”
“You couldn’t ask for better neighbors,” said Rosie Kellogg, who used to live on the block. “They were just a wonderful, caring family … a very religious family.”
Valerie McKnight, a former neighbor, said Seidler schooled all her children at home at times.
“She was a very devoted mother,” McKnight said.
Staff writer Jim Kirksey can be reached at 303-820-1448 or jkirksey@denverpost.com.
