Head-on collision kills young Elmo woman

A collision early Saturday morning, May 17, near Big Arm resulted in the death of a 22-year-old woman from Elmo.

The victim has been identified as Sunshine Swalley of Elmo. Her body was sent to the Montana State Crime Lab for autopsy.  

According to a report from the Montana Highway Patrol, the accident occurred at 2:38 a.m. Saturday morning. The woman, driving a Jeep Wrangler, was headed north when she crossed into the southbound lane and crashed head-on into a tanker truck driven by a 50-year-old man from Kalispell. Both vehicles caught fire upon impact. Although the tanker was empty, it had been carrying jet fuel.

The Polson Rural Fire Department responded to the blaze and reported on Facebook that both lanes of traffic were shut down for several hours to suppress the fire and clean up the accident scene. Chief Cliff Volunteer Fire Department and Quick Response Unit and Polson Ambulance also responded.

The crash remains under investigation by the Montana Highway Patrol, and the Lake County Coroner's Office is investigating the cause and manner of death. In a recent press release, the Lake County Sheriff/Coroner's Office expressed their condolences to the family of Ms. Swalley.