Lakeside man killed

The Daily Inter Lake

A Lakeside man was killed Saturday after his pickup truck, which he thought was safely parked, rolled over the top of him.

Norman McGillis, 73, was pruning apple trees in his front yard on Blacktail Road when the incident occured, said Flathead County Sheriff's Coroner Ernie Freebury.

"It appears he thought he had put his pickup in park when actually it was in reverse," Freebury said.

Parked on a slope, the truck rolled over McGillis apparently when he was bending over to pick up trimmed branches.

"I'm certain he died instantly," Freebury said.

Freebury said it appeared McGillis died from positional asphyxia, resulting from a cervical fracture.

McGillis was found by his wife, who called 911 at about 12:30 p.m. The Somers Fire Department and the Flathead County Sheriff's deputies responded.