MISSOULA — Two people died Friday in a crash involving several vehicles near Evaro Hill.
The Montana Highway Patrol reports that a 19-year-old man from Columbia Falls and another still unidentified female were killed in the four-vehicle crash.
The crash report states that a semi-truck was headed south on Highway 93 near mile marker 5 just minutes before 4 p.m. when its trailer started to jackknife. That caused the semi to rotate and cross the double-yellow line.
The semi then slid down the road and crashed into a GMC Sierra killing both the teenage driver and his passenger.
The driver of a third vehicle saw the accident and tried to brake, but crashed into the trailer, according to the MHP. The impact corrected the trailer's jackknife while also rotating the semi again. The semi-truck then went off the road and lost its load of plyboard.
The MHP report states a fourth vehicle then tried to avoid the crash, but hit the semi's trailer.
The 52-year-old semi-truck driver from South Dakota was injured in the crash. The drivers of the third and fourth vehicles were not injured.
Speed is suspected in the crash, which occurred in wet, slushy, and icy road conditions.
Highway 93 near Evaro Hill was shut down for over three hours while authorities cleared the wreckage.
The names of those involved have not yet been released.
