Three dead in two-vehicle collision in Lake County

Three people, including a Lake County woman, died in a two-vehicle collision in Northwest Montana Monday morning, the Montana Highway Patrol said.

The crash occurred on U.S. 93 between Ronan and St. Ignatius, near the Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge.

According to the Montana Highway Patrol, troopers responded to the fatal crash at 7:16 a.m.

Trooper Zachariah Miller told the Daily Inter Lake a 2006 red Lincoln Town Car with two Minnesota men in their late teens or early 20s was traveling north near mile marker 42 when it left the road, hit a guard rail and returned to the road. Miller said when the driver of the Town Car tried to return to his lane of travel, he slid into a black Chrysler 300 driven by an older Lake County woman.

All three people died at the scene of the head-on crash. He said all three were wearing seat belts and there was no suspicion of anyone driving under the influence. He did say speed was considered to be a minor factor in the crash.

The identity of the people killed was not immediately known.