2 Montana teens seriously injured in highway rescue attempt
A vehicle leans the edge of the Yellowstone Bridge at the scene of a massive pileup that occurred on I-90 westbound Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021, on the Yellowstone Bridge near Lockwood, Mont. Dozens of vehicles crashed into each other Saturday on an icy interstate highway bridge over the Yellowstone River outside Billings, Montana, making the span appear like a wrecking yard with mashed cars and trucks.(Ryan Berry/The Billings Gazette via AP)
BILLINGS (AP) — Two Montana teenagers sustained serious injuries when they fell from the I-90 Yellowstone River bridge while trying to help others stuck in a massive pileup that involved more than 30 vehicles, authorities said.
Gahge Whitemanrunshim, 17, and Celea Poitra, 19, had been trying to rescue a woman and two children stuck inside a vehicle as a result of the Saturday pileup.
Poitra was being treated for a broken back, lacerated kidney and other injuries. She was in an intensive care unit and expected to need multiple surgeries, her family said.
Whitemanrunshim suffered a fractured neck, punctured lung and other injuries.
Family members estimated Sunday that the fall was around 60 feet (18 meters), the Billings Gazette reported.
Poitra and Whitemanrunshim had been riding with a 77-year-old woman and two young siblings. They were on their way to a dental appointment.