A 17-year-old girl from the town of Manhattan died in a rollover crash in Gallatin County on Tuesday, December 24, 2024. She has been identified as Avery Melling.
She was a junior at Manhattan High School and a Manhattan Tigers cheerleader.
Ray and Laura Melling, her parents, told MTN News on Friday that Avery was a "force to be reckoned with," and who, despite experiencing trauma as a young child, embraced life and lived it to the fullest.
Moving on from the darkness she experienced, they say Avery was a goofball who made everyone laugh, and that she loved adventure and taking her friends along with her.
The crash happened at about 8:45 a.m. near West Cameron Bridge and Kimm Road several miles south of Manhattan and west of Belgrade.
According to the Montana Highway Patrol, she was eastbound in a Nissan Xterra on Cameron Bridge Road when she lost control on the icy road while exiting a curve.
The vehicle went off the left side of the road and rolled several times before coming to rest in a drainage ditch.
Avery died at the scene; she was the only occupant of the vehicle.
According to the MHP, she was not wearing a seatbelt, and alcohol/drugs were not factors in the crash.
