Highway officials say fatal crash investigation will be meticulous

HELENA — Montana Highway Patrol officials say they will conduct a meticulous investigation to determine the cause of a collision that killed six people east of Helena last week.

Six troopers are investigating Thursday’s crash between a pickup truck carrying a family of five and a fire engine driven by Three Forks Fire Chief Todd Rummel. 

A Montana Department of Justice statement Tuesday says the investigators are examining aerial photographs and plan to reconstruct the positions of the vehicles when they collided.

Capt. Gary Becker says investigators will exhaust every possible angle to determine what happened and the patrol will provide weekly updates on their progress.

A funeral service for Rummel is Wednesday in Three Forks. Funerals for Matthew Boegli, Crystal Ross and their three young children are scheduled for Thursday in Helena.