POLSON – The two people who died in a vehicle crash into a Polson business on Tuesday have been identified.
Mervin Payne, 76, and Crystal Anderson, 57, both of Polson, died due to medical events not directly related to the crash.
Around 1 p.m. Tuesday, Lake County 911 took a report of a vehicle that crashed into the back of the Murdoch’s in Polson.
Polson Police and EMS responded and attempted to save the unresponsive Payne, but he died at the scene, reportedly of natural causes, before the crash.
Anderson was transported to a local hospital, where she later died from a “cardiac event”.
An investigation shows that a medical event likely caused Payne to drive from the southbound lanes of Hwy 93, across the northbound lanes, through a field, over an embankment, and into the store.
A dog who was also involved in the crash was tended to by Life Saver’s Animal Rescue, who are facilitating care and transportation of the dog to the owner’s next of kin, who live out of state.
