Slick roads cause 3 wrecks in 1 day

The Montana Highway Patrol was busy traveling from one side of Sanders County to the other last Tuesday after Mother Nature added more snow and ice to the area.

Trooper Keith Danhof investigated three accidents and a stuck semi throughout the day, although he said none of the incidents were serious. Within a one-hour period, two people rolled their vehicles on slick roads outside of Thompson Falls and Plains. His day began with a chip truck getting stuck on Highway 56, north of Heron, before 10 a.m. There were no injuries.

Samual Burke, a Thompson Falls resident went off Blue Slide Road in his 1994 Ford Explorer and rolled two times before coming to a stop at a tree, said Danhof. Burke was transported by a Thompson Falls ambulance to the Clark Fork Valley Hospital in Plains with an injured back. The trooper said he was not wearing his seat belt when his vehicle flipped shortly before 11 a.m.

Around noon, a Plains couple rolled their 2000 Subaru Forester near their residence on Mountain Road, off Blackjack Road, some four miles from Plains. The driver, James Conner, was unhurt, but his wife, Dianne Conner, received a gash on her head and was taken by private vehicle to the Plains hospital. Both were wearing their seat belts, said Danhof.

Four and a half hours later, 16-year-old Kylee Knudson of Plains lost control of her 1995 Geo and ran into a fence on Lower Lynch Creek Road. Danhof said Knudson's airbag deployed and she was wearing her seat belt. She was not injured.

"This is the time of year when the snow pack and ice can be intermittent, so people need to be careful, especially in the shaded areas," said Danhof, adding that drivers should slow down when roads are slippery, which had been the cause of all four of Tuesday's accidents. No citations have been issued at this time.

Even if a driver is going the speed limit, he or she can be cited for "failure to drive at a reasonable and prudent speed" when road conditions are slick, according to Danhof.

"We've been fortunate that no one has been hurt seriously and that can be attributed to wearing their seat belts," said Danhof. He said people also need to watch out for animals, such as deer, elk and sheep, which cross the highways more often this time of year.