Seven trapped under the ice, two die after car crash
By Ethan Smith
Leader Staff
Two people died but five lived after the vehicle they were in ran off the road into a frozen pond outside of Charlo early Saturday morning, trapping all seven in the icy waters.
The Montana Highway Patrol is still interviewing the occupants of the vehicle that was pulled from a pond on Gunlock Road, but a review of Sheriff’s deputies’ reports paints a horrific picture for rescuers, who showed up at the scene to find several people still trapped inside, and others suffering from the early stages of hypothermia after escaping from the cold water.
The first 911 call came in at 3:37 a.m., after a Charlo resident complained of a man banging on his door. Little did he know at the time it was one of the occupants, who had managed to escape the car.
Another occupant, a 14-year-old boy from Ronan, knocked on the door of Betsy Potter, waking her and her friend Mare McGill.
“He was soaked to the bone, bleeding, half-frozen and smelled of alcohol,” Potter wrote in a letter to the editor that appears on page A4. “He told us the car was in the pond, and we called 911.”
McGill went to the scene to assist, as Tribal law and order Sgt. Ed Dumont arrived — the first of many emergency and law enforcement personnel to respond.
Sheriff’s deputies Tony Buff and Erwin Lobdell arrived shortly thereafter, and began helping Dumont treat the victims still at the scene, as Ronan fire and Mission and Ronan ambulance crews responded.
Buff’s and Lobdell’s reports describe a chaotic scene, with some victims needing CPR, while others were in shock from the accident, with their body temperatures plummeting from the cold water. Ronan fire personnel worked to free the remaining people who were trapped inside, while ambulance crews helped those who were already on shore.
According to Potter, the 14-year-old told her he had just escaped from submerged vehicle, and that he believed six others were still in the car.
“Oh my God,” Potter said. “Just the thought of six more wonderful kids in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing, and so scared, took my breath away.”
It’s not known at this time how many managed to escape on their own, or were pulled from the vehicle, but two women died as a result.
Antoinette Leona Acevedo, 22, of St. Ignatius, and Michael Marie Cottet, 20, of Charlo, were pronounced dead later that morning at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula.
Undersheriff Jay Doyle said investigators are pretty sure they know which one of the seven was driving that night, but were still interviewing the other occupants earlier this week. The other occupants included a 17-year-old Ronan male, an 18-year-old Ronan female, a 19-year-old Polson female, and a 25-year-old St. Ignatius male.
The 14-year-old victim kept saying, “I thought the guy driving was sober,” Potter said.
“This was a great kid - polite and kind. I might be wrong, but I don’t think this was a usual night for this kid,” Potter wrote. “Kids and alcohol … I’m so tired of hearing about these kids and reading their obituaries.”