Driver injured after car goes airborne, hits house

A bizarre crash on Foy’s Lake Road Tuesday afternoon sent one man to the hospital.

According to Montana Highway Patrol Trooper James Hawkins, a man was driving a Chevy Malibu down Foy’s Lake Road when it left the road, traveled through a small pasture, then a yard before becoming airborne and landing on the hood of a Chevy Suburban that was parked in the driveway of a nearby home.

Firefighters from Kalispell and Smith Valley worked to cut open the Malibu before the man could be taken to the hospital. The man had cuts to his face, but appeared to be conscious as firefighters placed him on a backboard and then into an ambulance. The air bags deployed in the vehicle.

“Speed was definitely a factor,” Hawkins said, adding that Highway Patrol would investigate whether drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash.

There were also two collisions farther up the road where a car hit a guard rail and a ditch. Hawkins said a Kalispell Police officer told him that they were related to the crash.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.