Two seriously injured in Hwy. 93 wreck

Two people were seriously injured Tuesday afternoon in a head-on collision just north of the Polson bridge.

A minivan and a white Subaru, both with Flathead County license plates, smashed into each other just 30 yards north of the bridge, blocking both the north and southbound lanes.

Polson fire and ambulance crews were called to the scene at about 3:30 p.m., and Polson fire crews had to use the Jaws of Life to extract the two drivers. However, their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, according to Polson fire chief John Fairchild.

"The driver of the minivan appeared to have internal injuries, and it looked like he might have been hurt by an object from inside the vehicle," Fairchild said. "The driver of the Subaru might have had a broken or dislocated hip, and his left leg was pretty messed up."

The ALERT helicopter arrived at the Polson airport at about 4:30, and the drivers were transported to Kalispell, but the pilots' reports indicated both men had been stabilized, Fairchild said.

"The report I heard from when they were in the air didn't sound too bad," he said.

Both men were wearing their seatbelts, Fairchild said.

"We had to cut the seatbelts when we extracted them from the vehicles," he noted.

The accident tied up traffic for almost two hours, although cars were allowed to go by at different times. Several Polson school buses also passed right by the accident, which happened minutes after many students were picked up.

Lake County Sheriff's deputies, Polson police, and Montana Highway Patrol troopers also responded to the scene, and an investigation will be conducted by MHP.

Additional updates on the drivers' conditions were unavailable by the Leader's presstime Tuesday night.