Head-on collision kills couple
Members of the Hot Springs Fire Department carry Linda Blakemen, 61, up an embankment after a head-on collision on Highway 28 near Hot Springs. Blakemen was air-lifted to the Missoula Community Hospital, where she died.
A head-on collision near Hot Springs on Highway 28 Tuesday killed a Vancouver, Wash., husband and wife and left a Plains woman in fair condition.
Around 3 p.m., Faye Salomone, 59, was traveling north on Highway 28 about four miles from Hot Springs when she lost control of her vehicle and swerved into the southbound lane striking the truck being driven by Russell Blakemen head-on near mile marker 16, according to Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Keith Danhof.
Danhof said the impact of the collision sent the Blakemen's 1995 Nissan truck rolling down an embankment for about 50 feet, where it came to rest atop its roof. Russell, 62, was ejected from the truck as it rolled down the embankment. He was pronounced dead at the scene, said Danhof.
Russell's 61-year-old wife Linda Blakemen had to be extricated from the truck with the Hot Springs Fire Department's Jaws of Life and was taken to Clark Fork Valley Hospital in Plains. She was later air-lifted to the Missoula Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to Danhof.
After striking the Blakemen's truck, Salomone's GMC Envoy came to rest in the southbound lane. The fire department also had to use the Jaws of Life to take Salomone from her vehicle. Salomone was taken to the Clark Fork Valley Hospital and later flown to St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula. A spokesperson for the hospital said that Salomone was listed in fair condition Wednesday afternoon. Danhof said that Salomone was the only one involved in the accident wearing a seat belt.
The speed of Salomone's vehicle at the time of the accident has yet to be determined, but Danhof said that speed didn't seem to play a factor in the collision. The trooper said that Salomone told him she had lost control of her vehicle, but couldn't explain why. He said the accident is still under investigation and there is no suspicion of alcohol being involved. No citations have been issued.
Both lanes of traffic were stopped as emergency personnel cleared the scene. Danhof said that traffic was stopped sporadically for about an hour and a half.
The Hot Springs Ambulance, the Hot Springs Fire Department, the Plains Community Ambulance, the Sanders County Sheriff's Office, the MHP and the Hot Springs Police Department responded to the accident.