Pickup driver had been drinking
David Erickson / Whitefish Pilot — Retired U.S. Navy Commander John Wallace leaves Whitefish High School after a Veterans Day ceremony on Tuesday. Wallace served from 1943-1965 in both World War II and the Korean War. He lives in Whitefish with his wife Arlene.
By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot
Trooper and two others died in Badrock Canyon wreck
A law enforcement source recently told the Whitefish Pilot that the driver of the pickup truck that collided with Montana Highway Patrol trooper Evan Schneider's vehicle this summer had a blood-alcohol content that was about twice the legal limit.
Three people were killed in the Aug. 26 crash on U.S. Highway 2 just west of Badrock Canyon — Schneider, 29, and Ginger Wilborn, 30, and Roy Allen Moore, 42, both of Hungry Horse.
Investigators say a third vehicle may have contributed to the accident — an eastbound light-colored, possibly white, small- to mid-sized car that was allegedly traveling erratically just prior to the accident. Schneider had noticed the car cross the centerline, turned his patrol car around near the House of Mystery, and accelerated to high speed in pursuit.
Video recovered from Schneider's patrol car shows the suspect car drift into the oncoming lane of traffic. It is believed Moore's westbound pickup swerved to avoid the car and lost control. There is no shoulder at that location.
Moore's pickup then veered back onto the highway and across the centerline into eastbound lane, striking Schneider's patrol car head-on. Investigators estimate Schneider had about half a second to react to the oncoming pickup.
According to the Pilot's law enforcement source, Moore's blood-alcohol content was about 0.16.
Investigators continue to look for the third vehicle, but the video from the older VHS tape machine in Schneider's patrol car is grainy, and there's no solid evidence that the third vehicle actually hit Moore's pickup truck.
Numerous people came forward with tips soon after a $50,000 reward was posted by billionaire Timothy Blixseth, a former timber baron and Montana real estate magnate with a home on Whitefish Lake, and an additional $10,000 by American Bank of Whitefish.
Anyone with information on the third car and driver involved in the crash is encouraged to call the detective division at the Flathead County Sheriff's Office at (406) 758-5600.