Teen injured in crash

A teenage boy hurrying to school Monday morning was critically injured after a crash on Lower Valley Road.

The Daily Inter Lake

A teenage boy hurrying to school Monday morning was critically injured after a crash on Lower Valley Road.

Sean Mallett, 15, was wearing a seat belt when he crashed a sport utility vehicle into a tree.

Montana Highway Patrolman David Mills estimated Mallett's speed at about 80 miles per hour on the road, which has a speed limit of 35 or 45.

A witness said Mallett passed him going west very fast. When the witness turned a corner, he found Mallett's 1992 Chevrolet Blazer had crashed head-on into a tree.

"It's the worst I've ever seen," Mills said.

The impact pushed the entire front of the vehicle back into the fire wall, he said. It took 35 minutes for rescuers to extricate Mallett from the wreckage.

Somers fire department and Kalispell fire department's ambulance responded. Mallett reportedly suffered a head injury, a broken leg and possibly a broken pelvis.

He was flown to a hospital out of the valley and was listed in critical condition.