Speed not factor in Tuesday's fatal crash

The Daily Inter Lake

Excessive speed was not a factor in the crash that killed a 23-year-old Bigfork woman Tuesday evening after the small SUV she was driving collided head-on with a pickup truck.

Jennifer Engebritson was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, according to Flathead County Sheriff's Cpl. Dorothy Browder, a deputy coroner.

The wreck occurred at about 5:20 p.m. on Montana 82, one mile west of Montana 35.

Engebritson, driving a Jeep Compass, was eastbound on Montana 82 when she veered into the westbound lane. Her car then collided head on with a Ford pickup truck traveling in the opposite direction, said Montana Highway Patrol trooper Evan Schneider.

Investigators may never know why the woman veered into oncoming traffic, Schneider said.

After the crash, Engebritson had to be cut out of her vehicle, Schneider said. It is not yet known whether alcohol contributed to the wreck.

The two occupants of the pickup, a 60-year-old woman and a 64-year-old man, were transported by Bigfork ambulance to Kalispell Regional Medical Center. Their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Schneider said.

The woman's death is the 15th traffic-related fatality in Flathead County this year.