Cause of double-fatality accident still under investigation
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ST. IGNATIUS — Missoula resident Debby Ramsey, 68, and her 91-year-old mother Mary Virginia Smith were killed in a two-vehicle accident near St. Ignatius April 21 in blizzard conditions.
Responding Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Aaron Day said that while the adverse conditions were a factor in the wreck, the role drugs and alcohol might have played in the crash is still under investigation.
According to law enforcement, the accident occurred April 21 around 6:10 p.m. at U.S. Highway 93 mile marker 34.9. A 2002 Buick Regal that Ramsey and Smith were driving was southbound on U.S. Highway 93. Witnesses said they saw the Buick lose control, start sliding and rotate 180 degrees across the center line. The Regal was facing northbound when it struck a Dodge pickup traveling northbound on the passenger side.
Day said neither vehicle rolled. The pickup came to rest on the side of the road and the Buick in the northbound lane.
“It appears that everyone involved was wearing their seat belts,” Day said.
Ramsey and Smith were pronounced dead at a hospital after they were removed from the scene. The pickup truck’s three occupants suffered no major injuries.
Day advised all drivers to slow down during adverse weather conditions, and “If you don’t have to be driving in bad weather, don’t drive.
“Obviously, it’s always good to be as careful as possible,” he said. “But, living in Montana, sometimes you have to be on the roads in this kind of weather and when that happens, you just need to be safe.”
