GREAT FALLS — Several car crashes on Going-to-the-Sun Road caused congestion or blocked traffic entirely on Wednesday in Glacier National Park.
Park officials said in a news release that two crashes sometime after 3 pm slowed traffic at the park entrance and at "the loop."
A crash halfway between “the loop” and the west tunnel occurred when a vehicle swerved to miss another vehicle that crossed over the yellow line, causing the first vehicle to hit a rock out cropping and disabling the vehicle.
Around the same time, two vehicles collided while merging from two lanes at the park entrance.
There were no serious injuries in either incident.
At around 5:40 pm, park dispatch received reports of a third crash and a vehicle on fire about two miles east of the Apgar campground turn-off.
A 70-year old man reportedly fell asleep and drove off the road on the Lake McDonald side while driving west. The car hit a tree and then started on fire.
The driver and a 65-year-old female passenger were able to get out of the car on their own. The female passenger was taken by ambulance to Logan Health in Whitefish to determine the extent of her injuries.
The fire left approximately a 20x20 yard burn scar on the lake side of the road, with flames at one point reaching from the base of trees to the crown. Martin City and Hungry Horse Fire Departments extinguished the fire. The car was destroyed.
The crash impeded traffic on Going-to-the-Sun Road for three hours.
No other details have been released.
