GREAT FALLS — One person died and seven people were injured in a two-vehicle crash in Big Horn County on Friday, July 26, 2024.
It happened at about 2:15 p.m. near mile marker 38 along US Highway 212.
According to the Montana Highway Patrol, the vehicles and occupants were:
Hyundai Sonata
- 21-year old male driver from Busby
- 20-year old male from Lame Deer
- 2-year old female
The two adults were wearing seatbelts; the MHP report does not state whether the child was properly restrained.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
- 28-year old male driver from South Dakota
- 34-year old female from South Dakota
- 24-year old male from South Dakoa
- 23-year old female
- 25-year old male
All occupants of the Jeep were wearing seatbelts.
The MHP report says that the Sonata was eastbound and attempted to pass a commercial vehicle in a no-passing zone. The Sonata collided head-on with the Jeep in the westbound lane.
Both vehicles overturned, and the Jeep caught fire.
The driver of the Sonata died at the scene; his name has not been released.
The seven other people were taken to a medical facility in Lame Deer, two of them with life-threatening injuries.
According to the MHP, speed was a factor in the collision; alcohol and/or drugs were not factors.
