Zip Trip crash ends in DUI charge
A Kalispell Police officer inspects the Ford Explorer that ran through the wall of the Cenex Zip Trip on First Avenue East in Kalispell on Thursday. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)
A man has been charged with driving under the influence after he allegedly crashed his vehicle through a Zip Trip convenience store in Kalispell on Thursday afternoon.
According to Kalispell Police Sgt. Chad Zimmerman, no injuries resulted from the collision that left the green Ford Explorer and its alleged driver, Christopher Wayne Losee, windshield-deep in the store.
Had any employees been in the small office on the other side of the wall, Zimmerman said, it would have been a different story.
Losee allegedly crossed U.S. 93 and drove through the cinder-block wall, damaging freezers and equipment and pushing a cooler through the opposite wall and into the business.
Zimmerman said Losee showed signs of intoxication but was awake when he was pulled from the car and transported to the hospital for a medical evaluation. Zimmerman would not comment on Losee’s level of alleged intoxication.
Losee is currently in custody at the Flathead County Detention Center on his third DUI charge as detectives continue to investigate the incident.
His bail is set at $1,300.
The Zip Trip has been closed and will reopen June 28 at the earliest if cleanup goes smoothly, according to an employee.
Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.