A 22-year-old man is dead following a head-on collision along U.S. 93 in the Mission Valley the day before Christmas Eve, according to Montana Highway Patrol.

Trooper Zach Miller said the crash happened shortly before 4 p.m. on Friday when the 22-year-old driver of a pickup truck crossed the center line while heading north and collided with a semitrailer.

“There was quite a bit of damage to both vehicles, probably the most I’ve seen,” Miller said.

He said the driver of the pickup truck was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. The 46-year-old man who was driving the semitrailer was transported to St. Luke Community Hospital in Ronan with non-life-threatening injuries.

The crash happened near mile marker 40 in front of Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge, just north of St. Ignatius. Miller said the accident blocked all lanes of U.S. 93 near Ninepipe for nearly six hours.

According to dispatch, the roads were covered with a slick layer of snow when the accident occurred. The stretch of highway is dotted with white crosses on the roadside representing other vehicle fatalities.

“There’s a lot of crashes in that area — it’s kind of a skinny stretch of road with not much shoulder,” Miller said. “But this was along a straight and flat stretch, so I don’t understand exactly what happened yet ... it’s still being investigated.”

Due to the magnitude of the crash, numerous local agencies worked to clear the wreckage and redirect traffic. Miller said Montana Highway Patrol, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Confederated Salish and Kootenai law enforcement, Ronan Fire Department and the Department of Emergency Management all responded to the scene.

Miller said the man who died was from the Flathead Valley area. He said the second driver was released from the hospital and is recovering at home.

The names of the drivers have not been released. The investigation is ongoing.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.