The wintry weather caused dozens of accidents and slide-offs from Butte to Bozeman on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Although many of the crashes were minor, one crash that was possibly weather-related claimed the life of an Anaconda man. The 33-year-old man died Wednesday morning from injuries he sustained in a one-vehicle rollover crash Tuesday evening.
The accident was reported just after 6:30 p.m. at the Nessler Junction west of Rocker where Interstate 90 and Interstate 15 meet, Montana Highway Patrol Captain Gary Becker said. The man was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the Jeep he was travelling in, Becker said. Possible icy bridge decks may have contributed to the accident, Becker added.
The identity of the man has not been released.
On Wednesday morning, the Montana Department of Transportation was reporting that most of Interstate 90 between Livingston and Butte was slushy or wet, while Interstate 15 north of Butte had scattered snow and ice.
In Butte, police are looking for a vehicle with a damaged front end after a late morning crash. Police are looking for the driver of a car that smashed into a pole on a busy Butte street just before noon Wednesday. Firefighters and police blocked off Excelsior Avenue from Platinum Street all the way north to Park. NorthWestern Energy crews were brought in to assess the situation and map out a strategy. No power outages were reported in the area.
The Montana Highway Patrol dealt with crashes along Interstate 90 in Park and Gallatin counties on Wednesday morning, especially in the Bozeman area between mile markers 303 and 312.
Officials with the Montana Highway Patrol say troopers responded to more than a dozen accidents in Gallatin County beginning early Tuesday evening and lasting until about 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Residents across the Gallatin Valley woke up to a blast of winter weather and some treacherous road conditions. A dumping of slushy snow overnight caused most highways and roads around Bozeman to be slippery, causing numerous slide-offs and crashes in the early morning hours.
A rollover crash was reported near the Interstate 90 East Main exit around 6:30 a.m.
Most of the crashes were due to the slushy ice on the roads, and only one person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries in the Bozeman area, according to the Montana Highway Patrol.
In one of the crashes, the driver of a semi truck lost control on Interstate 90 just before 6 a.m., and the vehicle jack-knifed in the median. The man was not hurt, but his truck was not drivable after the crash.
A majority of the accidents around Bozeman happened on the interstate. The Montana Department of Transportation Web site reports the highway being covered with snow and ice overnight and most of today.
For the weather forecast, click here.
