One woman dead, another injured in car crash near airport

A Tuesday morning crash involving a passenger vehicle and a dump truck on U.S. 2 East has left one person dead and another severely injured.

The accident occurred at 10:20 a.m. at U.S. 2 East mile marker 127, approximately 2 miles south of Glacier Park International Airport.

While still under investigation, Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Jerril Ren said according to eyewitnesses it appeared a vehicle carrying a female driver and passenger was on the shoulder of the westbound lane when the driver may have attempted to do a U-turn and turned into the path of a dump truck traveling southbound in the “fast lane,” or inside lane, toward Kalispell.

The female driver was pronounced dead at the scene. A female passenger was transported by ambulance to Kalispell Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. Ren said the male driver of the dump truck appeared to be uninjured.

The investigation is ongoing. Names, ages and addresses of those involved have not been released until families are notified, but it is believed everyone was local.

The area of U.S. mile marker 127 was still reduced to single-lane traffic early Tuesday afternoon as the scene was being cleared.

Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Glacier Park International Airport Fire Department and Evergreen Fire Rescue also responded to the call.