Teen critical after wreck

RONAN — A rollover accident near Ronan this weekend left one teenager in critical condition as of Monday morning.

Montana Highway Patrol trooper Terry Rosenbaum said that just before 5 p.m. on Sunday evening, a 1993-born male was driving southbound on Hillside Road when he lost control of his red 2000 Dodge pickup.

The pickup rolled over two and three-quarter times before coming to rest in a field on the driver’s side with the victim’s head pinned between the vehicle and ground. The cab of the truck had been crushed in the rollover, resulting in the victim’s partial ejection.

When Rosenbaum and trooper Shad Andersen arrived on scene about six minutes after the accident, they were able to push the vehicle enough to free the victim’s head. The driver, who was wearing his seat belt, began talking with the officers before he was extricated and moved by ground ambulance to St. Luke Community Hospital in Ronan. Life Flight later flew him to St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula.

“With that violent of a crash, if he wasn’t wearing his seat belt, there’s no doubt it would have been a fatality,” Rosenbaum said.

The male suffered a broken neck and a collapsed lung and, while in critical condition, is expected to be OK, according to Rosenbaum.

Rosenbaum said that speed and alcohol were factors in the crash, though exact numbers for each weren’t yet known. The posted speed limit on Hillside Road is 35 m.p.h., which Rosenbaum said the victim was exceeding.

“He did sustain serious injuries, but he’s still alive because of his seat belt,” Rosenbaum said. “The response of the Mission fire crew, ambulance and people helping at the scene also contributed to his being alive today.”