LIBBY – It was a deadly day on the roads in Lincoln County with two separate fatal crashes.
A Libby man was killed after he was struck by a vehicle early Thursday morning.
Montana Highway Patrol Sergeant Neil Duram told MTN News that Chance Robert Hilliard, 34, was apparently laying in the westbound lane of U.S. Highway 2 near mile marker 20 at around 2 a.m. when he was hit by a Ford Tempo driven by Jon Brooks, 43, also of Libby.
It’s still not clear at this time why Hilliard was in the roadway. MHP is continuing to investigate this crash, but they do say there are no criminal charges pending at this time.
Sergeant Duram also told MTN News that one person was killed in a single vehicle crash in Libby at the intersection of U.S. Highway 2 and Idaho Avenue. We don’t have many details on that crash yet, but we do know there was a confirmed fatality.
Additionally, there was a two-vehicle serious injury crash occurred on Montana Highway 37 near the 4.0 mile marker. A northbound Toyota Tundra driven by Russell James, 48, of Spokane Valley, WA collided with a Toyota T100 driven by a 16-year-old from Libby after the T100 attempted to perform a U-Turn in front of the Washington pickup.
The 16-year-old driver of the T100 was severely injured in the collision and was partially ejected from the vehicle. He has been released from the Kalispell Regional Hospital and is recovering from his injuries.
Charges are pending on the Libby youth for his right of way violation, failure to wear seatbelt and driver’s license issues, according to Trooper Duram
