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2 die in bus crash on icy Montana I-90

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January 09, 2012|By Associated Press

MISSOULA, Mont. - A bus crashed yesterday on an icy interstate highway in southwestern Montana, killing two people and sending more than 30 others to area hospitals, officials said.

The westbound Rimrock Trailways bus with 34 people on board crashed on Interstate 90 about a mile west of Clinton, 18 miles southeast of Missoula, shortly after 7 a.m.

The crash was one of several reported along that section of highway yesterday morning, closing both eastbound and westbound lanes of an 8-mile section of the interstate between Clinton and Turah.

Two people died in the bus crash, said Sergeant Scott Hoffman of the Montana Highway Patrol. All others on board were injured, some severely. Hoffman said he expected the death toll to rise.

St. Patrick Hospital spokeswoman JoAnne Hoven said four of the 10 passengers taken to the Missoula hospital were in critical condition. Four others were in serious condition, and two were treated and released.

Mary Windecker, spokeswoman for the Community Medical Center, also in Missoula, said 20 passengers were taken there to be treated for various injuries, none critical.

Those suffering the worst injuries appeared to have been ejected when the bus slid on its side and windows broke on the driver’s side. Three people were pinned under the bus. Hoffman said the driver was among the seriously injured.

The cause of the crash was not yet known, though it is believed icy conditions were a factor, said Dan Ronan of the American Bus Association.