Student worker dies after fall

A construction worker died Monday morning after falling from scaffolding into a barrel near Hutton Ranch Road.

The 60-year-old Bigfork man, a student working on a project for Flathead Valley Community College, fell backwards off the scaffolding about 8 feet into a 55-gallon barrel, according to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.

Emergency personnel were dispatched at 8:35 a.m. and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation was begun before the man was transported by Kalispell Ambulance to Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

The incident is still under investigation and the Sheriff’s Office is not releasing his name until family members are notified.

“It was a very sad, very tragic day for the college,” college President Jane Karas said. “Our thoughts and prayers certainly go out to the student’s family.”