Bigfork teen dies in crash

A young Bigfork man returning from a successful elk-hunting trip died in a traffic accident Monday morning on the Swan Highway.

Matthew James Edwards, 19, died after his pickup truck rolled on Montana 83 about 10 miles north of Condon.

Edwards, a 2013 Bigfork High School graduate, had been hunting in the Dillon area, according to Bigfork football coach Todd Emslie.

Edwards had an elk in the back of his Ford F-150 pickup, according to Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Jim Hawkins.

Hawkins said Edwards was driving north when he drifted off the right shoulder of the highway, overcorrected and rolled his pickup. Edwards, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash that occurred around 8:30 a.m.

Alcohol was not a factor, but speed was, a Montana Highway Patrol dispatcher said.

“He was a great kid,” Emslie said. “He was a super kid with a giant heart.”

Emslie coached Edwards in football and taught him at Swan River Elementary School. Edwards was Bigfork High School’s homecoming king last year.

Bigfork Principal Matt Porrovecchio said Edwards was a friend to everyone he met. “Matt will be sorely missed,” he said.

Edwards was a volunteer with Swan Search and Rescue, Lake County Undersheriff Dan Yonkin said. He turned 19 in September.

He is survived by his father, Ira Edwards, his mother, Katie Edwards, and two sisters, CharLee and Hannah.