Fatal Crash Causes Traffic Delay Near Arlee on Highway 93

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - A one-vehicle crash near Arlee on Highway 93 killed one person and caused a massive traffic jam on the busy highway on Monday morning.

I spoke with Montana Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Sergeant John Metcalfe who provided details of the fatal accident.

A One Vehicle Fatal Crash Snarled Traffic for Miles on US 93

“It looks like it is a fatal crash that happened right around mile marker 12 on U.S. 93,” began Sergeant Metcalfe. “The Cross Street is Schley Creek Road. I believe it was just a single vehicle involved with a single fatality, but it's pretty early on in the investigation.”

Metcalfe described the usual response by the Montana Highway Patrol after a fatal crash in a rural area.

“If we have enough people that are available, we like to try to see (our MHP) cars so people are aware that there's something happening,” he said. “They see flashing lights and hopefully they slow down. Sometimes, if we don't have enough vehicles, we'll ask for other agencies to help us out, and in this case, they were from Missoula County. So there might be a few Missoula County cars out there that are kind of preemptively staged, just to get people to start slowing down through the scene.”

Sergeant Metcalfe Urges Drivers to Slow Down in the Accident Scene

Sergeant Metcalfe said MHP troopers attempt to get traffic flowing again as quickly as possible considering the fact that an investigation into a fatal crash is underway.

“We do try to open roadways as fast as we can, just because it is kind of dangerous to have the slow rolling on the highway,” he said. “We try to timely do that, but we also try to balance collecting evidence, because some of that evidence, whether it's tire marks or how the vehicle is laying, that's all known as perishable evidence, and we try to get a thorough investigation and make sure that everything's marked before we can release the scene.”

I asked Sergeant Metcalfe what drivers should do when they encounter an accident on the highway.

Watch for Emergency Vehicles and Reduce Speed Near an Accident

“The big thing is going to be slowing down a lot,” he said. “If you see emergency lights, and there are going to be people in emergency vehicles and tow truck drivers, and potentially a coroner, the big thing is going to be slowing down, because what we really don't want is another crash to happen as a result of the traffic from the first one. Depending on the circumstance and the timing, towing companies are generally required to put signs out that say ‘accident or crash ahead’.”

Metcalfe said the investigation into the fatal crash is ongoing.