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One Killed, Three Injured in U.S. 93 Crash

By Beacon Staff

KALISPELL (AP) – One person was killed and three others injured in a three-vehicle crash on icy U.S. 93 just south of Kalispell, the Montana Highway Patrol said.

A southbound pickup truck slid into the northbound lane at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, striking an oncoming car head-on, the patrol said. The driver of the car, a man in his 30s, was killed. Two passengers in the car and the driver of the pickup were taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center for treatment.

A second pickup was unable to avoid the crash and slid into the side of the car. The driver refused medical treatment.

Officials have also released the names of three men killed in recent highway crashes.

Early Thursday, Chase Ungerman, 21, of Clancy, was killed when a pickup went out of control on a curve on Secondary 518 near Montana City, said Jefferson County Sheriff and Coroner Craig Doolittle.

Ungerman and a male passenger were eastbound when the pickup veered off the road, Ungerman overcorrected, the pickup slid, struck an embankment, became airborne and rolled at least once. Ungerman was not wearing his seat belt, said Montana highway Patrol Trooper Alex Betz. His passenger was wearing a seat belt and walked away from the crash without injury.

Early Wednesday, two 22-year-old Livingston men were killed in a one-vehicle crash after losing control of a pickup truck while traveling about 70 mph through a curve with a posted speed limit of 35 mph.

Trooper Shawn Fowler said the victims were David Wolstad and Joseph Braun. The pickup truck they were in went off the road, crashed into a guard rail, went off an embankment and crashed into some trees. Neither were wearing seat belts, Fowler said.

The deaths raise the state highway fatality toll to 272, compared with 263 on Dec. 27, 2006.