4-vehicle crash injures 2, snarls traffic

A four-vehicle crash late Tuesday afternoon near the intersection of U.S. 2 and West Reserve Drive in Evergreen sent two people to the hospital and snarled traffic for nearly two hours.

The accident was caused by the driver of a pickup truck who pulled out of the Town Pump gas station in front of a northbound dump truck full of gravel as the pickup driver was attempting a left-hand turn, according to Montana Highway Patrol Trooper James Hawkins. The impact caused the dump truck to roll onto its passenger side, and it then slid into a southbound pickup on U.S. 2. The initial pickup collided with a southbound passenger car.

The driver of the initial pickup, along with the driver of the dump truck, were transported by ambulance to Kalispell Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, the trooper said.

Speed and alcohol were not factors in the crash, and everyone involved was wearing a seatbelt, he added.

The accident happened just before 5 p.m. as the roadways filled with after-work commuters. Cleaning up the spilled load of gravel took time, and traffic was rerouted to alternative roads but created near gridlock conditions for a while on roads such as Whitefish Stage Road, Rose Crossing and other neighborhood routes.

Citations were issued, the trooper said. The roadway on U.S. 2 was reported clear at 6:45 p.m.