Patrol: speed a factor in fatal Lincoln County crash

Excessive speed is believed to be a factor in a rollover crash Friday evening in Lincoln County that left one woman dead and sent another man to the hospital.

According to a Montana Highway Patrol official, the woman who died was 37 years old and a resident of Beaverton, Oregon. The passenger was a 33-year-old man from Thompson Falls. The man, who was wearing a seat belt, was flown to Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

The crash occurred at about 6:15 p.m. on Highway 56 at milemarker 21.3, near Bull Lake and south of Troy. The woman, who was not wearing a seat belt, was driving south in a Ford Explorer when she drove off the west shoulder for unknown reasons while attempting to negotiate a right curve.

When she tried to get back on the highway, she overcorrected and the vehicle rolled several times, according to Montana Highway Patrol. She was ejected from the vehicle.

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