Wife says hit-and-run victim was traveling to Texas to see family

LIVINGSTON — The wife of an 81-year-old Alaska man who was struck and killed on Interstate 90 in south-central Montana said he was making his annual drive to Texas to visit his children and grandchildren.

Elgie Bedford of Wasilla, Alaska, died Monday near Big Timber after being hit while walking along the highway. His car was found nearby.

Carol Bedford, 73, said on Tuesday that her husband made the 4,000-mile trip to Paris, Texas, each year to spend time with his family, traveling the distance over a period of eight to 10 days.

“I used to go down with him, but I’ve gotten to where I can’t anymore,” she said.

She said she didn’t know why his car was parked along the highway or why he might have been walking. He hadn’t had any car problems that she knew of.

Police in Wasilla notified her Monday that her husband of seven years had died.

“He was just a good man, an all-around good man,” she said. “I hope very much that they catch the person that did this. He did not deserve to die that way.”

Investigators say he may have been hit more than once. Part of his body was found at a car wash In Livingston, about 40 miles away.

“Not even to bother to stop. That angers me greatly,” Carol Bedford said.

The Montana Highway Patrol and the Sweet Grass County sheriff’s office are investigating.