Officials ID man killed in crash near Hungry Horse Dam
The Two Bear Air search-and-rescue helicopter lowers a crew member to the site of a wrecked vehicle below Upper Dam Road in Hungry Horse on Tuesday, June 29, 2021. A young man from the Flathead Valley died in the crash after his vehicle plummeted about 200 feet down a steep slope near the Hungry Horse Dam. (Chris Peterson/Hungry Horse News)
Authorities have identified a local man who died early Tuesday after his car went off a road and plummeted about 200 feet down a steep slope near the Hungry Horse Dam.
Ridge Horner, 18, of Kalispell, died after the Honda HRV he was driving went off Upper Dam Road, according to Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino.
The car went off the road at a turnout that overlooks the South Fork of the Flathead River before plummeting.
Horner was ejected from the vehicle and died from injuries he suffered in the crash, Heino said.
The Hungry Horse News spoke to a young man who said he was Horner’s friend. The friend and two others said they found Horner at about 10 a.m. after receiving text messages from him. Horner was apparently camping at the Hungry Horse Reservoir prior to the incident.
The friends then notified authorities.
A camper who was staying in a tent near the South Fork at the bottom of the slope said he heard the crash around 6:30 a.m.
The Two Bear Air search-and-rescue helicopter responded and lowered personnel down to the wrecked vehicle. They recovered Horner’s body at about 1 p.m. The Hungry Horse Fire Department, ALERT and Three Rivers Ambulance also responded to the scene.
The Montana Highway Patrol and the Flathead County Sheriff's Office are investigating the incident.