NEED TO KNOW
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A mother of two in Wyoming is dead after her vehicle was hit head-on by a car traveling in the wrong direction
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The mother was identified by police as 43-year-old Mandy Butler; her father, Randy, was a passenger in the vehicle and remains in critical condition
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Dude Butler, Mandy’s brother and Randy’s son, spoke with PEOPLE in detail about the incident
A mother of two in Wyoming is dead after her vehicle was hit by a car traveling in the wrong direction, police said.
On Friday, Nov. 7, Mandy Butler, 43, left home to drive a few miles to pick up her father, Randy, 77, from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where he worked as an ordinance worker, Mandy’s brother Dude Butler, tells PEOPLE.
That night, Dude, 47, received a call from his 10-year-old nephew, who said that his mom had never returned home.
“He called distraught, saying ‘she should have been home. It’s been a couple of hours. I’ve called her 40 times. She’s not answering. I just know something’s wrong,’ ” Dude tells PEOPLE exclusively.
After picking up Mandy’s 10-year-old son and 4-year-old son to take them to his house, Dude says that he received a phone call telling him that Mandy and Randy were in the hospital.
As soon as they arrived, Dude says he was told that Mandy “had passed on the operating room table” and their father was in critical condition.
Casper Police Department officers responded to a report of a vehicle crash with injuries in the 5300 block of CY Avenue in Casper shortly after 9:00 p.m., the department said in a press release.
Dude Butler
Mandy Butler and her dad Randy
Police confirmed to PEOPLE that a Nissan passenger car traveling eastbound in the westbound lane of CY Avenue collided head-on with a Toyota SUV driven by 43-year-old Mandy Butler, which was traveling in the correct direction.
According to the Casper Police Department’s press release, “the influence of alcohol is being investigated as a contributing factor. Upon completion of the investigation, appropriate charges will be recommended.”
Dude tells PEOPLE that Mandy’s oldest son was “heartbroken” when he found out about his mom’s death, and that her younger son has been asking for her.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to raise funds for Mandy’s children, who Dude says are his loved ones’ top priority, as Mandy was someone who “cared so much about everybody.”
“She was really empathetic, an empath, if you will, and she truly did put other people first, as well as having the sharpest whip out of anybody I know,” Dude said. “She could cut like a knife in an argument, and she could just make you roll for hours with her sense of humor.”
Bustard & Jacoby Funeral Home
Mandy Butler
Dude says that while he and his family are covering funeral costs, they are setting up a trust that will benefit her sons as they grow up.
“If there’s any silver lining to come out of this. If anybody wants to help, we’re setting up a trust where all of this money is going to go and it’ll it’s going to go to benefit those boys, especially as they get older,” Dude said.
As they plan Mandy’s funeral, Dude and the Butler family are now waiting for word on their father, who he said “doesn’t look good” as he is expected to undergo multiple surgeries to repair injuries to his spine, femur, and hip.
Dude tells PEOPLE that a brain and spine surgeon recently visited his father and is “trying to mentally prepare everybody for where she thinks we’re at, although not giving us any conclusions.”
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The Casper Police Department said in a press statement that “this tragedy is a devastating reminder of the dangers and irreversible consequences of impaired driving.”
Read the original article on People
