Semi jackknifes near Fish Creek; no injuries reported
Kathleen Woodford Mineral Independent | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 10 months AGO
A truck jumped the guardrail west of Fish Creek on Sunday morning. Driving conditions were severe over the weekend due to snow and freezing rain. No injuries were reported. (Photo courtesy of Frenchtown Fire Department).
A truck jackknifed and went over the guardrail and down an embankment on Sunday morning, west of Fish Creek Exit 66 on Interstate 90.
Fortunately, there were no injuries reported int he spectacular crash.
The westbound lane was closed as emergency crews from the Frenchtown Fire Department, Montana Highway Patrol and sheriff’s department worked to secure the scene around 8:30 a.m.
Despite warning signs saying “incident ahead,” fire department personnel reported several near misses due to drivers ignoring the signs and directions.
Around 10 a.m. multiple towing company rigs were on the scene to pull the truck from the embankment. No injuries were reported. Driving conditions over the weekend were severe as freezing rain and snow covered the area. Mel Holtz with the Frenchtown Fire Department, said they had responded to several rollover accidents and remarked that people weren’t slowing down and moving over.
“It was very difficult to keep focused on the job at hand because we had several near-misses as cars passed by even though we had adequate signage,” he said. “It seems particularly bad this year and it’s frustrating that the public is not responding when they come upon the scene of an accident,” Holtz said.
Emergency responders are trying to get the word out to all drivers to slow down when approaching an accident scene.
ARTICLES BY KATHLEEN WOODFORD MINERAL INDEPENDENT
Mineral County sends tax bill to Forest Service
The Forest Service will be receiving a property tax bill from Mineral County this year. County Commissioners Laurie Johnston, Roman Zylawy and Duane Simons signed the letter March 9 requesting property tax revenue for 2017. The “historic letter” as defined by Rep. Denley Loge, describes the plight Mineral County is facing as options to fund the county have dried up.
Colorado woman dies after vehicle gets stuck
An early evening call received by Mineral County dispatch on Friday, March 17, ended in tragedy. The body of Colorado resident Debra Ann Koziel was found in the Fish Creek area by a search team the following Tuesday afternoon. Her death was determined to be the result of exposure to weather.
No major flooding as snow thaws
“As the ground starts thawing, the rocks start falling,” was a post made on the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page last week. A photo accompanied the post of a big rock which had come down on Mullan Road East near the Big Eddy fishing access in Superior on March 11. “Please be aware of your surroundings and pay attention while driving,” they warned in the post.