BOZEMAN — According to the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, two people died on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, due to a wrong-way driver on Interstate 90.
The Montana Highway Patrol says the crash happened on I-90 eastbound, west of the Highway 287 interchange in Three Forks, at about 7:20 a.m.
The Sheriff's Office says a driver got on the interstate at the Wheat Montana exit (Exit 274), and initially drove in the right direction before making a u-turn a few miles west of the exit.
The driver reportedly struck another vehicle at mile marker 272.
Broadwater County Sheriff/Coroner Nick Rauser says the man driving in the wrong direction is from Washington; the driver of the vehicle that was struck is a man from Montana.
The Montana Highway Patrol says the two fatalities were a 56-year old man from Spokane, Washington, who was driving a Kia Spectra; and a 50-year old man from Basin, Montana, who was driving a Honda Accord.
Both men died at the scene; they were the only occupants of their respective vehicles.
Both men were wearing seatbelts, according to the MHP, and the crash report indicates that drugs may have been a factor, but the agency did not link possible drug use to a specific driver.
The identities of the two men who died have not yet been released, pending family notification.
Sheriff Rauser also told MTN News that two dogs were in the wrong-way driver's vehicle. They were injured, and deputies brought them to a veterinarian to see if they could be saved. Due to the severity of their injuries, the dogs were both put down.
The Montana Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. There are reportedly several witnesses, including video from a semi-truck.
