Three brothers hurt in pickup rollover

A teenager escaped injury when he was thrown from a vehicle as it rolled twice during a Wednesday morning crash near Bigfork.

Christian Ruiz, 13, of Bigfork and his brothers Aiden Ruiz, 6, and Ricardo Ruiz II, 16, were taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center around 9 a.m. with minor injuries.

None of the boys were wearing seat belts.

Christian Ruiz was ejected through the window of the front passenger side as the truck rolled before landing on its top along Montana 209 one mile east of the Swan River Bridge around 8 a.m. Wednesday, according to Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Dustin LeRette.

Out of the vehicle and on his feet, Christian Ruiz already was calling his parents by the time Ricardo Ruiz II was able to crawl out and pull his brother from the rear of the extended cab.

On the way to school in Bigfork, Ricardo Ruiz II had been accelerating into a 60 mph zone when he lost control of the older model Toyota truck on the icy roads and slid sideways, rolling the vehicle twice, LeRette said. 

Christian Ruiz sustained an ankle injury and neck and back pain and Aiden Ruiz sustained a possible shoulder injury and bruising.