BOZEMAN — According to the Gallatin County Sheriff, people drive the wrong way on the strip of I-90 between Bozeman and Three Forks about once every couple of weeks. MTN spoke to a woman who worked with Laysa Grewell, who says her vehicle was clipped by the same wrong-way driver that crashed head-on with Laysa, killing her.
"I just see like, a bright flash of light coming towards me, and all of a sudden, I'm just swerving out of the way and I'm hit," says Nadine Olive.
Olive had just left work before Laysa Grewell when she saw what she thought was a car on the other side of the road—until it was right in front of her.
"I see my mirror is like, hanging off of my car. And thankfully I was just able to pop it back in," says Olive. "But, you know, going at full speed, two people colliding, I was kind of surprised that's all that happened."
The car that hit Olive ran head-on into Laysa's car soon after. Collisions like this are becoming more common on this stretch of Interstate 90 between Bozeman and Three Forks. Local law enforcement is ready to see a change.
"It is very frustrating. I'm actually kind of angry is probably the best descriptor right now because it's preventable," says Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer.
Sheriff Springer says new safety measures are needed.
"I know that we are going to push hard," he says. "Already spoke with the governor yesterday. I spoke to the attorney general. Absolutely, they are on board. They recognize this is a public safety problem and we're killing people."
Safety measures could include reverse spikes on off-ramps, large flashing signs, and public notification systems to warn drivers of someone going the wrong way. But, safety starts with the driver.
"There's a personal responsibility. The individual needs to stop drinking before they get in their car. Until Montana or Gallatin County, wherever we want to talk about, we got to get them to believe drunk driving is a problem," says Sheriff Springer.
On Friday afternoon, the Sheriff did hear back from the state that they are going to fast-track new signs for the off-ramps in hopes of preventing more tragedies like this one. For Olive, she plans on being more careful than ever on I-90.
"Just makes me paranoid because defensive driving is really important," says Olive, "but in a moment like that, you can't really be defensive when it's just somebody coming at you at night head-on."
She realizes just how lucky she is.
"It's hard to even process it, but I'm just thankful to be here, thankful that I had good reaction time," says Olive.
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