Driver killed in crash

The Daily Inter Lake

A Whitefish man was killed early Friday morning in a one-car crash on Silverbrook Drive at the north edge of Kalispell.

John David French, 26, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Flathead County Sheriff's deputy and deputy coroner Nick Salois.

French was driving on Silverbrook Drive near the intersection with Church Drive about 12:30 a.m. when he failed to negotiate a corner and the driver's side of his Ford Taurus collided with the end of a guardrail.

Excessive speed was a factor in the crash, according to the Kalispell Police Department.

A 21-year-old passenger in the vehicle was able to free himself and walk to U.S. 93, where he obtained help from a passing motorist. The passenger was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

French is the 10th person to die in crashes on Flathead County roads thus year, but the first fatality of 2009 within Kalispell city limits.