Two people still hospitalized

The Daily Inter Lake

Congressional staffer Dustin Frost remains sedated at Kalispell Regional Medical Center and is being closely monitored for a brain injury.

Frost was the most severely injured among five people in a boat that launched into rocks along Flathead Lake on Thursday night.

He and Greg Barkus, who was driving the boat, remain hospitalized.

In a telephone press conference Monday morning, Erik Iverson, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., said Frost still was sedated and doctors were carefully monitoring his brain pressure.

They're "optimistic that he is progressing at the rate he needs to," Iverson said. "They're optimistic that he will recover, although nobody can gauge the level of recovery."

Iverson said he did not believe Frost ever regained consciousness since the accident. Frost, from Sunburst, is the state director for Rehberg.

Rehberg and another staffer, Kristen Smith, along with Barkus and his wife, Kathy, were injured when the boat smashed into the rocky shore at Wayfarers State Park.

Rehberg on Monday became the first of the injured to be released from Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

Rehberg suffered a fractured ankle along with other injuries and will be on crutches for several weeks.

"Jan and I are very grateful for the overwhelming support and prayers we've received from around the country," Rehberg said in a statement.

"I also want to thank the excellent staff and administrators at Kalispell Regional Medical Center for the outstanding care I received. While it's good to be heading home, my thoughts and prayers remain with Dustin, Kristen, Greg, Kathy and their families."

Smith, Rehberg's deputy chief of staff, also was released from the hospital Monday. Smith suffered cuts to her face and head and several fractures - including her nose and wrist.

Kathy Barkus said she, too, was released from the hospital Monday, according to The Associated Press, but her husband has remained in intensive care since the crash. She did not elaborate on his injuries.

No other information is being released about the Barkuses.