Pickup, semi, collide on Highway 206 south of Columbia Falls

Two people were injured after the Dodge pickup truck they were driving was hit by a southbound semi tanker truck Saturday morning on Highway 206.

A witness said the pickup truck was stopped at the intersection of Kelley Road when it appeared the male driver reached over to get something, let his foot off the brake and went into the path of the semi. The tanker with a pup trailer hit the brakes, but the two collided at near highway speeds. The semi hit the driver’s side of the pickup and the Dodge flew down the roadway and then struck a Suburban head-on in a resident’s driveway. The tanker ended up jack-knifed across the road, the tractor in the far ditch. 

The semi driver was uninjured, but driver of the pickup truck and another male passenger were taken to the hospital by Three River’s Ambulance. The tanker was empty and was not carrying a flammable substance.

The Bad Rock Fire Department, Flathead County Sheriff’s Deputies, Columbia Falls Police and Montana Highway Patrol also responded to the scene. The road was closed until the trailer could be moved.

The accident remains under investigation.