Updated: Jan. 12, 12:58 p.m.
Snowy conditions during Thursday evening’s commute contributed to numerous car crashes, including one fatality on Montana Highway 40 between Whitefish and Columbia Falls.
Montana Highway Patrolman John Underwood said the fatal crash was reported at 4 p.m. Thursday. An 82-year-old Whitefish woman was driving east when she lost control of the vehicle and drove into the path of an oncoming dump truck. Moments before impact, the woman’s car spun around and was struck in the rear by the dump truck.
The woman, identified by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office as Doris Field, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two other vehicles at the scene of the crash also collided when they both tried to avoid debris from the first crash. The drivers of those vehicles were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
“Road surface conditions were a factor in both collisions, “ Underwood said.
Underwood said there were numerous slide-offs and crashes Thursday and he reminded drivers to always slow down and wear their seat belts.