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Canadian man charged after two dead in chain-reaction crash in Wyoming

Authorities in Wyoming say a second person has died in a massive chain-reaction crash that led to a criminal charge being laid against a Quebec man.

LARAMIE, Wyo. — Authorities in Wyoming say a second person has died in a massive chain-reaction crash that led to a criminal charge being laid against a Quebec man.

Alex Dragaytsev was arrested on a charge of aggravated vehicular homicide after the crash in southeast Wyoming.

Trucks and cars piled into one another Monday in dense fog on Interstate 80, resulting in a fiery crash that killed one person and sent up a column of thick black smoke.

A second person was pronounced dead today.

Wyoming Highway Patrol Sgt. David Wagener said the 45-year-old Dragaytsev was being held at the Albany County jail in Laramie.

Dragaytsev is from the Montreal-area community of Longueuil.

The pileup occurred around 8 a.m. Monday, after two commercial trucks collided, causing one to jackknife in both westbound lanes, Wagener said.

Dozens of other vehicles piled into the crash. Among the 64 vehicles involved was a tanker containing a flammable liquid that caught fire and required foam to put it out.

The female victims were identified as Lynn Freeman, 58, of Williford, Ark., and Jenay L. Breden, 23, of Westminster, Colo.

The Foreign Affairs Department says Canadian officials are keeping a close watch on the situation and are ready to provide consular assistance as needed.