(Basin) – A double-fatality crash over the weekend claimed the lives of two people after their vehicle overturned on Interstate 15 in Jefferson County.
The Montana Highway Patrol reports that early Saturday morning, a Jeep Grand Cherokee was traveling northbound near mile marker 154, just outside of Basin. Authorities state that the road conditions were wet when the driver lost control of the vehicle and overcorrected. The Jeep entered a sideways skid, left the roadway, and slid for over one hundred feet before flipping into a roll. The vehicle struck several trees before coming to a rest near the river.
The thirty-six-year-old driver from Columbia Falls and a thirty-six-year-old passenger from Bowie, Texas, were both pronounced dead at the scene. State troopers noted that neither occupant was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, and investigators suspect both alcohol and speeding may have been factors in the accident.
