What happened to the car museum in Bigfork?

At 10:26 p.m. on the evening of Friday, Jan. 22, I received a call from my security. There was broken glass and an open door alarm at my car museum in Bigfork.

I drove from my home in Arizona and arrived in Bigfork on Sunday. When I went to look at the damage, it made me sick. It looked like a bomb went off: Glass, rocks and concrete from the flower planters and rock wall were piled all the way to the office door. When I saw this amount of damage I questioned the deputy. He said he had been right behind the vehicle when it veered off the highway, knocked over a fire hydrant and electrical box, drove another 150 feet across the parking lot, over the car parking stops and through the front of the showroom, coming to rest short of running into the office. It is hard to believe the vehicle was only going 30-35 miles per hour as the deputy stated.

Leon and Merry Nelson, who look over the property when we are gone, gave me the crash report from the Highway Patrol. We thank some very good friends and neighbors who came to the museum and boarded up the front of the building to make it secure that Friday evening.

I called the Highway Patrol officer to find out what happened to the driver of the pickup. He told me to call the sheriff’s office to find out; however, the sheriff’s office had no record of the driver. They said that the driver was probably taken to the hospital as a precaution of an injury. I contacted the fire department, and they said that the ambulance crew had taken the driver to the hospital; however, the hospital had no record of the driver having been checked in. Since he wasn’t checked in at the hospital, I assumed he was taken to jail.

The driver, from Browning, was passed out with an empty bottle of vodka next to him on the seat of his pickup. When being questioned by the Highway Patrol and sheriff’s deputies, the driver was allegedly belligerent and was flipping off the officer taking the pictures at the scene.

It turns out the driver was picked up by his father and taken back to the Blackfeet Reservation. It was also noted on the crash report that he had no insurance, which is required by law. The damage came to $75,000. If I had done this, I would have been thrown in jail and required to pay all damages.

There was an arbitration hearing on May 17 at 1 p.m. at the Justice Center in Kalispell. After several cases had been completed, it was announced that the driver had changed his plea from not guilty for DUI to guilty. The judge had the clerk call the driver’s attorney to set a date, and, to no surprise of mine, the attorney was not available. The judge then postponed the date for two weeks later.

I have never been involved in anything like this before. As the judge was leaving the courtroom, I asked, “Don’t I have any rights for restitution? And do I have a say for the hearing date?” I could not be at the scheduled hearing because my wife and I would be attending our granddaughter’s high-school graduation in Michigan.

The judge looked at me, and said, “I’m not a magic man, and neither are you, and don’t give me that smirk.” I’ll admit I don’t hide my feelings very well, but what a stupid remark for a judge to say. I realize there is no chance for any restitution, and that I would be going against the Blackfeet Reservation and a legal system that is not designed for those of us that carry insurance, including even for uninsured motorists. I hope the public understands that I’m 75 years old and have better things to do than fight a losing court battle.

Maybe now you know why you didn’t hear about this incident in the news.

Bob Keenan, our state representative, was a lot of help to us.

Loretta and I will be enjoying the cars ourselves by driving them more often, and I’m in the process of selling some of the collection over a period of years. I’ll still be in the shop working on cars, gas pumps and other memorabilia as I have for the past 43 years. We have met some wonderful people over the years and everyone seems to enjoy the collection, and we would like to thank you very much. However, when you work for so many years building a collection and you experience what we did last winter, it takes your heart away and makes one lose confidence in our legal system.

Lyle Aklestad, of Bigfork, is the owner of the Flathead V8 Car Museum.