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Fundraiser set up for family of sisters killed in crash

Chris Peterson and Scott Shindledecker | Daily Inter-Lake | UPDATED 3 years, 8 months AGO
by Chris Peterson and Scott Shindledecker
| May 6, 2021 3:00 PM

An online fundraiser has been set up for the family of two Columbia Falls young women who were killed in a multi-vehicle accident outside Great Falls Monday.

The sisters, Kaylynn Best, 20, and Jenae Best, 17, died in a four-vehicle, chain-reaction traffic crash on I-15 in Pondera County after smoke from a controlled burn obscured the vision of drivers ahead of them.

According to Montana Highway Patrol, a 57-year-old man from Calgary, Alberta, was driving a Peterbilt tractor trailer hauling a Lode King trailer south on I-15 near Conrad at 1:15 p.m., when smoke from the burn obstructed his vision.

The driver slowed to 25 miles per hour and the truck was rear-ended by a Freightliner truck and utility trailer driven by a 51-year-old man from Calgary, Alberta.

Then a Pontiac Grand Prix with the women from Columbia Falls hit the rear of the Freightliner truck.

A fourth vehicle, a Mazda CX-5, driven by a 30-year-old woman from Colorado Springs, Colorado, hit the rear of the Pontiac.

Both Columbia Falls women died at the scene. According to the investigating officer, it was not known which person was driving or if they were wearing seat belts.

The 51-year-old man from Calgary, who was wearing a seat belt, was injured.

The 30-year-old woman from Colorado Springs driving the Mazda was injured and taken to a local hospital. Two female passengers in the Mazda, a 30-year and a 60-year-old, were also injured. All three were wearing seat belts.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for the Best family.

The Best girls were the daughters of Kim and Gordon Best.

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