Man identified in fatal crash near Hungry Horse Dam
Two Bear Air hoists personnel down to the site of a car accident off the Upper Dam Road Tuesday morning.
By CHRIS PETERSON and SCOTT SHINDLEDECKER
A local man who died in a vehicle crash Tuesday has been identified by authorities.
According to Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino, Ridge Horner, 18, of Kalispell, died after a silver Honda HRV he was driving went off Upper Dam Road in Hungry Horse early Tuesday.
The car went off the road at a turnout that overlooks the South Fork of the Flathead River and plummeted about 200 feet down a steep slope near the Hungry Horse Dam.
Horner was ejected from the vehicle and died from injuries he suffered in the crash, according to Heino.
The Hungry Horse News spoke to a young man who said he was Horner’s friend. The friend and two others said they found Horner at about 10 a.m. after receiving text messages from him. Horner was apparently camping at the Hungry Horse Reservoir prior to the incident.
The friends then notified authorities.
A camper who was staying in a tent near the South Fork at the bottom of the slope said he heard the crash around 6:30 a.m.
The Two Bear Air search-and-rescue helicopter responded and lowered personnel down to the wrecked vehicle. They recovered Horner’s body at about 1 p.m. The Hungry Horse Fire Department, ALERT and Three Rivers Ambulance also responded to the scene.
The Montana Highway Patrol and the Flathead County Sheriff's Office are investigating the incident.