Two women dead in Hwy 93 crash

ST. IGNATIUS — Two women are dead after a crash just north of St. Ignatius Sunday evening.

Debbie Ramsey, 68 and of Missoula, and 91-year-old Mary Virginia Smith, currently of Elmo, were in a 2002 Buick sedan when the vehicle rotated 180 degrees and crossed into the northbound lane of U.S. Highway 93 at mile marker 35, said Trooper Aaron Day, with the Montana Highway Patrol.

Witnesses say the vehicle then struck a 2002 Dodge pickup truck on the driver's side, Day said.

Slushy roads were a factor in the crash, he said, adding speed and other factors are still under investigation.

The women were transported to St. Luke Community Healthcare in Ronan before one was transported to a Missoula hospital and the other to a Kalispell hospital, before each was declared dead.

The male driver of the Buick also was transported to St. Luke's, where he was later released, Day said.

The people in the truck were uninjured.