The Wyoming Highway Patrol says a trucker who was killed when his rig plunged off a cliff west of Buffalo had contacted his company before the incident saying he was having difficulties with his brakes.

The crash happened shortly before noon on Aug. 17 near mile marker 86 on U.S. 16.

The patrol says 47-year-old Texas resident Javier Cardoso Reyes was driving east down a steep mountain pass when, because he was going too fast, he failed to negotiate a left-hand curve, went off the right side of the highway, and rolled his rig.

The rig struck the guardrail and went over it, causing it to drop off a steep cliff.

The patrol says when the rig hit the ground, the cab separated from the frame, and the trailer and tractor also separated, scattering a load of drill pipe across the bottom of the canyon. The tractor frame caught fire and burned up.

Reyes was wearing his seat belt but died from his injuries.