EBS STAFF
Editor’s note: this story was updated on Oct. 21 at 2:15 p.m. to include details from MHP investigation and BSFD press release. In addition, the leading image for this story was changed on Oct. 22 out of respect for privacy.
A collision in the Gallatin Canyon near Big Sky resulted in one fatality and a near-six-hour road closure Sunday evening.
The crash occurred just before 7:50 p.m. at mile marker 52, about four miles north of Big Sky on U.S. Highway 191. A Nissan Titan pickup truck traveling northbound lost control and veered into the southbound lane, where it collided with a semi-truck moving southbound. The pickup truck immediately burst into flames, according to an eyewitness report.
Speed and alcohol are suspected factors in the crash, according to a press release from Montana Highway Patrol on 10:51 a.m. Monday.
The driver of the pickup truck was pronounced dead on scene, authorities confirmed. The driver has not yet been identified, but MHP revealed it was a 31-year-old male from Big Sky. The semi-truck driver, a 28-year-old male resident of Ogden, Utah, was injured and received treatment at Big Sky Medical Center.
First response, investigation and clean up efforts on the two-lane road blocked traffic until 1:27 a.m. when authorities reopened the road. Gallatin County Sheriff’s deputies responded moments after the crash, having been nearby by coincidence—with no cellular service in the area, response would likely have been slower otherwise. Deputies assessed the scene and attacked flames with fire extinguishers until Big Sky Fire Department personnel arrived to contain the vehicle fire.
“BSFD members engaged in an aggressive exposure protection to keep the fire out of the forest and adjacent vehicles,” an Oct. 21 BSFD press release stated.
