GREAT FALLS — It has been a deadly several weeks on Montana roads - 16 people have died in crashes between December 1 and December 16, 2023.
DECEMBER 1: One person died in a crash involving a school bus and two pick-up trucks in Lake County. It happened at about 7:00 a.m. on U.S. Highway 93 near Mellow Cove Lane, along the western shore of Flathead Lake. There were no students on the school bus at the time of the crash. According to the Montana Highway Patrol, the bus was northbound on US Highway 93 when it crossed the center-line after negotiating a curve. The two pickup trucks were southbound on US Highway 93 and crashed into the school bus. The school bus had two occupants: a 61-year old female driver from Polson, and a 74-year old passenger from Ronan. Both were taken to Logan Health in Kalispell for medical treatment. The MHP is not yet sure if the driver was wearing a seatbelt; the passenger was not. The 54-year old male driver and sole occupant of the Dodge Ram died at the scene. The man was from Rollins; his name has not yet been released. The MHP is not yet sure if he was wearing a seatbelt. The male driver and sole occupant of the Chevy Silverado - from Kalispell - was also taken to Logan Health in Kalispell; he was wearing a seatbelt. The nature and extent of injuries to the three people taken to hospital has not been disclosed. Alcohol/drugs and speed were not factors in the crash, according to the MHP.
DECEMBER 2: A man died and a woman was injured in a one-vehicle crash in Lincoln County. According to the MHP, the two people were in a Toyota Tacoma when the driver, a 38-year old man from Eureka, failed to negotiate a curve, lost control of the vehicle, and went sideways off the road. The pickup truck rolled several times, and both the driver and the 35-year old female passenger were thrown from the vehicle by the force of the crash. The driver died at the scene; his name has not yet been released. The passenger, also from Eureka, was taken to Logan Health in Kalispell; the nature and extent of her injuries has not been released. According to the MHP, neither person was wearing a seatbelt, and alcohol is suspected as a factor in the crash. Road conditions at the time were snowy and icy.
DECEMBER 7: One person died and two people were injured in a one-vehicle crash in Glacier County It happened at about 6:30 p.m. near the intersection of Badger Creek Road and Larson Drive, several miles north of Heart Butte. According to the Montana Highway Patrol, there were three people in a Dodge Durango: a 39-year old man from Browning, who was driving; a 37-year old man from Missoula; and a 40-year old man from Browning. The MHP crash report says they were westbound on Badger Creek Road when the vehicle drifted off the right side of the road; the driver over-corrected, and the vehicle crossed the center line and off the left side of the road. The driver again over-corrected, sending the vehicle into a spin and off the road, where it rolled over several times. The 40-year old man from Browning died at the scene; his name has not been released at this point. The other two men were taken to the Indian Health Service clinic in Browning; the nature and extent of their injuries was not disclosed. According to the MHP, the roads were icy at the time; none of the three men were wearing seatbelts; and alcohol is suspected as a factor in the crash.
DECEMBER 9: Kristopher Olson, 42 years old, and Kyl Shearer, 60, died in a head-on collision on Lake Elmo Drive in Billings. It happened when a vehicle driven by Olson on Lake Elmo Drive passed other vehicles by entering the turn lane, which switches into an oncoming lane north of Wicks Lane. Olson's vehicle, which witnesses said was traveling at a high speed, didn't merge back into the driving lane and collided head-on with the vehicle driven by Shearer, police said. Both men were killed.
DECEMBER 11: A 43-year old man from Conrad died in a one-vehicle crash. The Montana Highway Patrol says that the man was eastbound and drifted off the road. He over-corrected, and the vehicle spun across the road to the north-side ditch and rolled. According to the MHP, the man was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the vehicle by the force of the crash, and died at the scene. His name has not been released at this point. Alcohol and/or drugs are not believed to have been factors in the crash, but speed may have been a factor, according to the MHP.
DECEMBER 13: A 19-year-old Layke James Leischner of Laurel died when a pickup truck he was driving went off the road at Buffalo Trail Road and Canyon Creek Road north of Laurel and rolled, according to the Montana Highway Patrol. Leischner, who was not wearing a seatbelt, died at the scene. The MHP says that alcohol, drugs, and/or speed were not factors in the crash.
DECEMBER 13: A 19-year old driver died in a one-vehicle crash in Yellowstone County. It happened near the intersection of Buffalo Trail Road and Canyon Creek Road west of Billings at about 7:10 a.m. According to the MHP, the 19-year old man from Laurel drifted off the road for some reason, and then over-corrected. The vehicle then went off the road and rolled. The driver - the only occupant - was not wearing a seatbelt and died from his injuries, according to the MHP. His name has not yet been released. The MHP says that alcohol, drugs, and/or speed were not factors in the crash.
DECEMBER 15: A 17-year old driver died in a one-vehicle crash in Lake County on December 15. It happened along Theresa Adams Lane at about 2:40 a.m. several miles east of Arlee. The MHP says the 17-year old from Arlee failed to negotiate a left-hand curve and the Dodge Dart went off of a steep embankment, overturning several times. The driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. The name of the teen has not yet been released. The 19-year old male passenger from Arlee, who was wearing a seatbelt, according to the MHP, was taken to a hospital in Missoula for treatment of his injuries; the nature and extent of his injuries has not been released. The MHP says that alcohol, drugs, and/or speed were not factors in the crash.
DECEMBER 15: A one-vehicle crash killed one person and injured two people in Park County. It happened near the intersection of Old Clyde Park Road and Calvary Road several miles northeast of Livingston at about 5 p.m. According to the Montana Highway Patrol, there were three occupants of the Ford Explorer. Driver: 18-year old woman from Butte; no seatbelt; Passenger: 50-year old woman from Billings; no seatbelt; Passenger: 12-year old girl; home town unknown; wearing seatbelt. The MHP says the vehicle was eastbound on Old Clyde Park Road when it ran off the right side of the road and rolled. The 50-year old woman died at the scene; her name has not yet been released. The other two were taken to Livingston Health for treatment; the nature and extent of their injuries has not been disclosed. According to the MHP, alcohol and/or drugs were factors in the crash, along with speed.
DECEMBER 16: Four teenagers died in a one-vehicle crash in Billings. Police said the crash happened along the 1800 block of Minnesota Avenue at about 2:30 a.m. Two teens died at the scene, and two others died a short time later at Billings hospitals. The vehicle was westbound when it went off the road, causing the driver to lose control and crash into a large pole supporting a business sign. The victims of the crash are an 18 year-old-male, a 17-year-old male, and two 14-year-old females. Their names have not been released yet. The initial investigation indicates speed, possibly alcohol, and no seatbelts were contributing factors.
DECEMBER 16: Two people died and five people were injured in a three-vehicle collision in Missoula County. It happened at about 5:40 p.m. along US Highway 93 near Evaro, several miles north of Missoula. The Montana Highway Patrol provided the following details about the vehicles and occupants: BMW - 66-year old female driver from Paradise, MT; 66-year old man from Whitehall, MT; 45-year old man (home town unknown); all three were wearing seatbelts. Chevy Silverado - 48-year old male driver from Missoula; 11-year old boy (home town unknown); both were wearing seatbelts. Jeep Cherokee - 24-year old male driver from Charlo, MT; 25-year old woman from Ronan; 23-year old man from Arlee. The driver and 25-year old were wearing seatbelts; the 23-year old was not. According to the MHP, the BMW was northbound on US 93 near mile marker 4.9; the road was icy. The BMW lost traction and began to slide, crossed the double yellow line, and began to rotate. The southbound Silverado collided with the BMW, and the southbound Cherokee crashed into the Silverado. The 66-year old man and the 66-year old woman in the BMW died at the scene. Their names have not yet been released. The two occupants of the Silverado and two occupants of the Cherokee were injured in the crash and taken to Providence St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula; the nature and extent of their injuries has not been disclosed.
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