Missoula Driver Crashes Into Van After School Bus Stop

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - On October 30, 2025, at approximately 2:21 p.m., a Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) Trooper responded to a two-vehicle crash on Mullan Road. The trooper learned that a red Chevy Trailblazer had crashed into the back of a white van.  

The driver of the van, John Doe, informed the trooper that he was traveling east on Mullan Road behind a school bus. The school bus stopped, and children began to get off the bus. Doe stopped for the bus and children, but the Trailblazer behind Doe did not. Instead, the Trailblazer crashed into the rear of Doe’s van.  

The driver of the Trailblazer, 24-year-old Christopher Young, complained of injury and was receiving medical treatment inside an ambulance when the trooper arrived on scene. EMS informed the trooper that Young appeared intoxicated. The trooper observed that Young’s eyes appeared bloodshot and watery. Young also smelled of alcohol.  

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His BrAC was Well Over Three Times the Legal Limit 

According to court documents, Young later told the trooper that he had only had one drink three hours prior to the crash. Young provided a PBT of .294 BrAC, which is well over three times the legal limit. The trooper investigated the crash scene. He observed significant front-end damage to Young’s Trailblazer. The Trailblazer also contained several empty alcohol containers. The trooper did not see any brake marks leading up to the crash site, indicating that Young did not brake at all or did not brake with any force prior to crashing into the van that had stopped for the children. 

The trooper advised that, based on the damage to the two vehicles involved in the crash and the posted speed limit being 45 MPH, it is probable that Young was traveling at or in excess of 45 MPH at the time of the crash. The trooper advised that the van was the first vehicle to stop behind the school bus. Thus, if the van had not been there, Young would have collided with the school bus at a high rate of speed as the bus was unloading children. 

Young has three prior DUI convictions: August 2018, January 2025 (Aggravated DUI), and April 2025 (Aggravated DUI). This will thus be Young’s fourth DUI, in fact, but the 2018 DUI does not stack under Montana law, so this is charged as a third DUI. This is Young’s third Aggravated DUI in the last ten months. 

READ MORE: Missoula News – Crime Reports 

Young was arrested and transported to the Missoula County Detention Facility. Young is currently being charged with felony criminal endangerment, aggravated DUI third offense, careless driving, and failure to carry proof of liability insurance. His bond was set at $100,000. 

The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.