Cyclist becomes third traffic victim in a day
The Daily Inter Lake
A Kalispell man was killed late Wednesday when his motorcycle rear-ended a pickup truck on U.S. 93 north of Somers, making him the third man killed in three separate crashes on Flathead County highways in just one day.
Clayton Brice Alstad, 26, was northbound on U.S. 93 about a mile north of the intersection with Montana 82 at 10:50 p.m. Wednesday when he rear-ended a Toyota pickup truck and slid into the ditch, Montana Highway Patrol trooper David Mills said.
Alstad, who was riding a Suzuki motorcycle, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Flathead County Sheriff's Sgt. and deputy coroner Bob Provo.
He was not wearing a helmet.
Mills said he didn't know what caused Alstad to collide with the pickup truck in an accident that occurred at highway speeds, but that the pickup truck's tail lights were working and the driver didn't report suddenly braking.
The pickup truck's driver, who was not injured, also was not cited. She told investigators she didn't see the approaching motorcycle until she felt the impact.
Alcohol and excessive speeds on Alstad's part contributed to the crash, Mills said.
Authorities on Thursday released the name of the second man killed in vehicle crashes Wednesday.
Albert A. Kerestes, 84, was southbound on Whitefish Stage Road at about 9:20 a.m. Wednesday when a Ford pickup heading west on West Reserve Drive ran a red light and struck his four-door Buick sedan broadside, Montana Highway Patrol trooper Robert Hensley said.
Kerestes, of Whitefish, was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, said Flathead County Undersheriff and deputy coroner Pete Wingert.
Kerestes' passenger, his 84-year-old wife, and the driver of the pickup truck, a 60-year-old Kalispell man, were taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
The pickup truck's driver told investigators he was having a medical problem as he approached the intersection and was trying to get home, but doctors were unable to find anything immediately wrong with him at the hospital, investigators said.
Investigators will forward their reports to the Flathead County Attorney's Office for possible charges against the pickup truck's driver.
The third fatality, 21-year-old Trevor Scott Osler of Kalispell, was at about 1:05 a.m. Wednesday in a one-vehicle rollover near mile marker 49 on Montana 35.
Osler, who was driving alone, was pronounced dead at the scene, Wingert said.
Alstad is the 23rd person to be killed on Flathead County highways in 2008.