UPDATE: 9:30 a.m. - July 19,2022
HELENA - The Montana Highway Patrol has released additional information on the victims of the crash Monday night. The six fatalities occurred in three vehicles among the 19-vehicle crash. The Highway Patrol did not identify any of the victims.
- The driver of a Mercedes Sprint van, a 60-year-old Bozeman man, was killed. The passenger of the van, a 61-year-old Bozeman woman, was injured and taken to a local hospital. The man was identified as Eric Love, the founder of Crosscut Mountain Sports Center, a Bozeman area recreation facility. Crosscut identified him on its website. His passenger was his wife, Jacquie Love, who was described as alert at the hospital and in conversation with family.
- Four people died in a Chevrolet Traverse. They included the 72-year-old female driver from Hardin, a 22-year-old woman, an 11-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy.
- A passenger died in a GMC Sierra, a 47-year-old man from St. Xavier. The driver, a 79-year-old man from St. Xavier, was taken to Billings Clinic.
(first report: 1:01 p.m. - July 18, 2022)
The Montana Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate the multi-vehicle crash along I-90 near Hardin that happened on Friday, July 15, 2022.
The massive pile-up happened when a dust storm swept through the region and reduced visibility to almost zero.
On Monday, the MHP released the following information:
- Six fatalities have been confirmed of individuals in three different vehicles. They were all Montanans, three were minors and three were adults and the youngest was three years old.
- Eleven individuals were injured, three have critical injuries.
- All injured individuals were initially transported to Big Horn County Memorial Hospital by ground ambulance since air ambulances were not available due to weather. The most serious injuries were then transported to Billings for more advanced care.
- In total, twenty-nine individuals were involved. The vehicles involved were from nine U.S. states and one Canadian province.
The names of the people that died have not yet been released by the Big Horn County Coroner.
The investigation continues to support that a sudden dust storm caused the incident. MHP offers the following tips for driving in a dust storm or low-visibility weather event:
- Check traffic around your vehicle and begin to slow down.
- When beginning to experience low visibility, pull off the road as soon as possible.
- Look for an area where you can safely pull off the paved portion of the road completely. Avoid stopping in the travel or emergency lanes. Exit the highway if able.
- Set your emergency brake and take your foot off the brake.
- Stay in your vehicle and make sure everyone is wearing your seatbelts.
- High-profile vehicle drivers should have a heightened awareness of changing weather conditions and reduce speed when necessary.
