By Josh Margolis
BOX ELDER, Mont. (NMB) – Five people, including two children, died when vehicles collided near Box Elder on Friday evening.
Montana Highway Patrol was alerted to the crash at 8:35 PM Friday night, and Trooper Chris Baker says the initial 9-1-1 call came in at 8:24 PM.
The crash occurred on Duck Creek Road, about a mile and a half south of the intersection with Upper Box Elder Road, when the right-side tires of a Ford Taurus traveling northbound left the roadway.
The driver, 30 year-old-male Ryan Foursouls, attempted to correct back to the left, causing the vehicle to enter a sideways slide leaning toward the passenger side. The Taurus then collided head-on with the second vehicle, a Chevy Impala, which was traveling southbound.
The two people in the Taurus and three in the Impala all died.
The driver of the Taurus was identified as 30-year-old Ryan Foursouls, and the passenger was 26-year-old Sage Ferguson, Sr.
The driver of the Impala was 30 year-old Rokki Parker, and the passengers were an 8-year-old female and 5-year-old male.
All five victims were Box Elder residents.
Baker says four of the victims were declared dead at the scene, while the 5-year-old died while being transported to Northern Montana Hospital.
Only the 8-year-old was wearing a seat-belt, and alcohol and excessive speed are suspected factors in the crash.
The roads were bare and dry at the time of the crash.
The crash remains under investigation by the Montana Highway Patrol and the Chouteau County Sheriff’s Department. Tribal authorities will be assisting.
This story has been updated
