KALISPELL – U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg is expected to make a full recovery after undergoing surgery on a broken ankle he suffered in a boat accident on Flathead Lake Thursday night.
Rehberg, two staffers, Kalispell Republican state Sen. Greg Barkus and his wife, Kathleen were hospitalized in stable condition after their 22-foot boat ran into rocks in the dark.
In a conference call with reporters, Erik Iverson, Rehberg’s former chief of staff and the former chairman of the state GOP, said he spoke with the congressman Friday morning and Rehberg, “was awake and alert and concerned about how everyone else was doing.”
“He’s got some cuts and bruises,” Iverson said. “He took quite a lump on his head.”
As for the broken ankle, Iverson recalled Rehberg saying, “It hurts like hell.”
Iverson did not have any information as to how the other accident victims – which included Rehberg’s State Director Dustin Frost and Deputy Chief of Staff Kristin Smith – were doing other than to confirm that all victims were still in stable condition.
Iverson said he did not discuss with Rehberg how the accident occurred, who was driving the boat or whether alcohol was a factor in the crash, but he did confirm that Rehberg was not the victim transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center by ALERT helicopter.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing. Boating experts for the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks are conducting the investigation, with assistance from accident reconstruction specialists from the Montana Highway Patrol. The Flathead County Sheriff’s Detective Division is conducting interviews with witnesses and collecting and submitting evidence to the Montana State Crime Lab.
“It was a pretty serious accident near Wayfarers state park,” Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman Tom Palmer said. Investigators had the park closed and the entire area cordoned off Friday.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Dispatch received a call at approximately 10:20 p.m. Thursday night about a boat crash just south of Wayfarer’s State Park. Campers at the park heard the crash. When they came up on the scene, they immediately called 911. The boat was found fully out of the water, facing uphill on a steep slope of solid rock. Both Bigfork Ambulance and the ALERT helicopter transported patients to KRMC.
“Typically what they will look into is the condition of the boat and try to determine the following: the speed at impact, who was driving, whether or not they had the proper number of life jackets on board — which would have been five — determine if they were wearing any, and determine who was driving,” Palmer said. “Whether or not alcohol or drugs is involved is a routine part of such investigations.”
Oliverson said the patients were in the emergency room for a few hours, and then were taken to rooms sometime around 2 a.m., adding that he didn’t have any more information about the crash or the condition of the victims.
At the hospital, guards were posted near doors and hallways leading to Rehberg, Barkus and the other patients, as is KRMC’s procedure for treating patients who are public officials or celebrities.
“The only people that can get in are people (Rehberg) has told us can get in,” Oliverson said.
Rehberg spokesman Jed Link issued a statement Friday afternoon:
“Last night Congressman Rehberg and two members of his staff were passengers in a boat that was involved in an accident on Flathead Lake near Bigfork. Denny is in stable condition and is doing well. His thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved. We will continue to provide information as it becomes available.”
Rehberg had been scheduled to hold town hall meetings in Cut Bank and Shelby on Friday. Both were canceled.
State Sen. Gary Perry, a good friend of Barkus, said he had just heard about the crash and was getting ready to go to the hospital. Perry, from Manhattan, said he knew little about Barkus’ condition.
“It’s a tragic accident,” Perry said. “We’re praying for him.”
