Man accused of strangling driver with a seatbelt

A Rawlins man faces felony charges of strangulation after allegedly pulling on the seatbelt of the driver he was sitting behind in an attempt to stop the vehicle.

On May 26 just before 4 p.m., a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper was dispatched to a fight in progress on I-90 at milepost 151. He arrived to find Moorcroft Police Department had already secured the scene.

The driver allegedly stated that Travis Trujillo, who was sitting directly behind him in the vehicle, had grabbed the seatbelt and pulled on it and said he had begun to choke, so he pulled the vehicle onto the shoulder and came to a stop.

Trujillo allegedly claimed he was attempting to get the driver to stop the vehicle. According to court reports, he had thrown some food at the front window for the same purpose and, when that didn’t work, grabbed the seatbelt.

According to the trooper’s report, the driver had red marks on both sides of his neck and cheek consistent with those that would be left by a seatbelt.

Trujillo faces one count of strangulation of a household member, a felony carrying a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment, a $10,000 fine or both.