Superior man dies in crash near Thompson Falls

A Mineral County man died in a traffic crash early Monday morning on Montana 200 near Thompson Falls.

According to Montana Highway Patrol, a 24-year-old man from Superior was driving a 1981 Buick Skylark west at about 3 a.m. when it drove into the eastbound lane and collided head-on with a 1998 Kenworth tractor trailer driven by a 56-year-old man from Thompson Falls.

Both vehicles came to rest in a ditch on the westbound side of the road and the man from Superior died at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt.

The Thompson Falls man, who was wearing a seat belt, was injured and taken to Clark Fork Valley Hospital for treatment.

Drugs are suspected to be a factor in the crash. Road conditions were described as bare and dry.

The death was the 57th fatality on Montana roads in 2021.