Man dies after car accident

The Daily Inter Lake

A Kalispell man died in the hospital early Monday morning from injuries he suffered in a car wreck the day before.

Willard Allen Stockwell, 84, suffered major trauma in the crash, investigators said.

The crash occurred about 2:45 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of West Valley and West Reserve drives.

Stockwell, driving a 1988 Honda Accord, was stopped at a stop sign in the northbound lane of West Valley Drive, according to the Montana Highway Patrol. He pulled out into the intersection and his car was hit in the side by a 1998 Nissan Sentra westbound on West Reserve Drive.

Traffic on West Reserve Drive doesn't have a stop sign at that intersection.

It appears Stockwell never saw the approaching car, Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Bob Hensley said.

The Sentra's 20-year-old driver suffered minor injures and was not transported to the hospital. Stockwell was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center, where he died from his injuries 12 1/2 hours after the crash.

Neither driver was wearing a seat belt.

Neither alcohol nor excessive speeds were factors in the accident, Hensley said.

Stockwell is the 20th traffic fatality this year in Flathead County.