Log truck smashes into rig at Swan River School

One person was ejected from his vehicle in a collision between a loaded logging truck and pickup truck in front of Swan River School Friday.

The wreck was at the intersection of Montana 83 and Echo Lake Road.

According to Montana Highway Patrol Trooper John Underwood, an RBM Logging truck was driving westbound on Montana 83 when a 2014 Ford pickup truck driven by a Bigfork man pulled from the Swan River School parking lot into the highway.

The truck driver, a Columbia Falls man, tried to avoid a collision by swerving into the oncoming traffic lane.

“He was unable to avoid hitting that truck,” Underwood said. “He hit the truck in the left front fender.”

The pickup rolled 1 1/2 times before it came to rest. The driver’s door was ripped open in the crash. The man was not wearing his seat belt and was ejected.

The logging truck overturned on its side into a ditch, dumping its load pf logs onto the roadway.

L.D. Gross was one of the first people to arrive on the scene. He helped slow oncoming traffic until emergency responders could arrive.

“The trailer broke apart,” Gross said. “There were Lincoln logs everywhere.”

The truck driver and his male passenger did not have to be transported to the hospital.

The driver of the pickup truck was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center with substantial injuries.

Underwood said citations will be issued but that he had not determined what those citations would be as of Friday night.

 Another local logging company helped clear the logs, and the vehicles were towed by Bolster’s Towing and Double Deuce Towing. Bigfork Fire Department helped direct traffic, which was being diverted through the parking lot of Echo Lake Cafe.

Two hours after the crash, drivers were still being told to expect 10- to 20-minute delays on Montana 83.