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Woods Bay Man Killed in Highway 93 Crash Near Somers

Driver of fully loaded chip truck was uninjured in fatal collision

By Tristan Scott
The scene of a fatal crash on U.S. Highway 93 near Somers on May 26, 2016. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon

A 42-year-old Woods Bay man was killed Thursday morning when the pickup truck he was driving collided head-on with a tandem-trailer chip truck on U.S. Highway 93 near Somers.

Charles Long died at the scene, while the driver of the fully loaded chip truck, a 30-year-old man from Trout Creek, was uninjured, according to Montana Highway Patrol Trooper David Mills.

The fatal collision occurred at 6:48 a.m. Thursday near the intersection of School Addition Road and closed a section of the highway for nearly five hours, Mills said.

Long was driving southbound on U.S. Highway 93 when he failed to negotiate the downhill curve approaching Somers, crossed into the northbound lane and crashed into the chip truck, striking the oncoming vehicle partially head-on.

The driver of the pickup was wearing a seatbelt and the vehicle’s airbags deployed, but he was killed instantly.

Mills said it is unknown whether alcohol or speed played a role in the crash. The investigation is ongoing.