Bigfork teen dies in one-vehicle accident

A 19-year-old Bigfork man died Monday after a one-vehicle accident on Montana Highway 83.

Matt James Edwards was pronounced dead at the scene after the pickup he was driving went off the road four miles north of Salmon Prairie. The crash was reported at 8:25 a.m.

According to Montana Highway Patrol, Edwards’ Ford F-150 drifted off the right side of the road while headed northbound. The driver then overcorrected, rolled the vehicle and was ejected.

Alcohol was not a factor, but speed was a factor, a Montana Highway Patrol dispatcher said.

Edwards was not wearing his seat belt.

Lake County Undersheriff Dan Yonkin confirmed Edwards’ death Tuesday morning.

Montana Highway Patrol Capt. Steve Lavin said there was an elk in the back of Edwards’ pickup.

Bigfork High School football coach Todd Emslie said Edwards had been elk hunting near Dillon. “He was a great kid,” Emslie said. “He was a super kid with a giant heart.”

Emslie coached Edwards in football and taught him at Swan River Elementary School. Edwards was Bigfork High School’s homecoming king last year.

Edwards was a volunteer with Swan Search and Rescue, Yonkin said. He turned 19 in September.