Fatal crash causes traffic delays near Arlee on Highway 93

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) – A car crash near Arlee on Highway 93 left one person dead Monday morning, causing a massive traffic backup on the busy highway.

I spoke with Sergeant John Metcalfe, spokesman for the Montana Highway Patrol, who gave me details about the fatal accident.

A fatal car accident brought traffic on US 93 to a standstill for miles

“It appears to be a fatal accident that occurred just off mile marker 12 on US 93,” Sergeant Metcalfe began. “The cross street is Schley Creek Road. I believe there was only a single vehicle involved with a single fatality, but the investigation is still very early.”

Metcalfe described the Montana Highway Patrol's usual response to a fatal accident in a rural area.

“When we have enough people, we try to get our MHP cars out there so people know something is happening,” he said. “They see the flashing lights and hopefully they slow down. Sometimes when we don't have enough vehicles, we ask other agencies to help, and in this case they were from Missoula County. So there might be a few cars out there from Missoula County that are kind of preemptively positioned to get people to slow down.”

Sergeant Metcalfe asks drivers at the accident scene to slow down

Sergeant Metcalfe said MHP officers were attempting to restore traffic as quickly as possible as a fatal crash investigation was currently underway.

“We're trying to get the roads cleared as quickly as possible because it's quite dangerous when cars are driving slowly on the highway,” he said. “We're trying to do that in a timely manner, but we're also trying to balance the evidence collection because some of that evidence, whether it's tire tracks or the location of the vehicle, is all ephemeral evidence and we're trying to do a thorough investigation and make sure everything is marked before we can clear the scene.”

I asked Sergeant Metcalfe what drivers should do if they are involved in an accident on the motorway.

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Watch for emergency vehicles and reduce speed near an accident

“The most important thing is going to be to slow down a lot,” he said. “When you see warning lights and there are people in emergency vehicles and tow truck drivers and possibly a coroner there, the most important thing is going to be to slow down because we really don't want another accident to happen because of the traffic from the first accident. Depending on the circumstances and the timing, towing companies are generally required to post signs that say 'accident or accident ahead.'”

Metcalfe said the investigation into the fatal accident was still ongoing.