Man dies in rollover

The Daily Inter Lake

A Kalispell man was killed Friday morning when the piece of construction equipment he was driving rolled off a steep embankment and pinned him underneath.

The accident occurred at about 9:30 a.m. on Stillwater Road, a quarter mile south of the intersection with Church Drive.

Brian Harvey Heastan, 42, was driving a Gradall Telehandler lift truck close to the soft shoulder of the road when it gave away, pulling the piece of construction equipment into the ditch. The steep embankment caused the lift truck to roll, according to the Montana Highway Patrol.

Heastan was thrown from the lift truck's partially closed cabin and pinned underneath the machine, according to investigators.

He was pronounced dead on the scene.

The accident scene was discovered about 9:55 a.m., approximately half an hour after investigators believe the accident occurred and Heastan died.

Rescue personnel were forced to cut away dense undergrowth to extract Heastan's body.

According to an employee of Swank Construction, Heastan was reportedly on his way to a nearby construction site.

The Gradall Telehandler weighs approximately 16 tons and travels at a maximum speed of 19 mph.

The Montana Highway Patrol, Kalispell Police Department, Flathead County Sheriff's Office and West Valley Fire Department responded.

Heastan's death is the 19th traffic-related fatality in Flathead County this year.