Helena man dies after being struck by pickup on U.S. Highway 2

A 20-year-old Helena man died in the dark hours before dawn Saturday after a pickup struck him while he was walking on U.S. Highway 2 near Kalispell. For Lewis and Clark County, the loss lands far from home but close to home all the same, in a young man from Helena whose death will be felt by family, friends and others who knew him back in the capital city.

Montana Highway Patrol said the crash happened at 2:53 a.m. June 14 near mile marker 117 in Flathead County. The pedestrian was wearing all-dark clothing and was walking in a traffic lane on a stretch of road with no shoulder when the driver of a westbound Ford F-150 turned on the high beams and illuminated him, according to the patrol report. The truck hit him with the front driver-side bumper, and he rolled into the oncoming lane.

The pickup stopped in the westbound lane and waited for emergency responders. The man died at the scene.

The driver was an 18-year-old woman from Eureka, and the truck carried three passengers ages 16, 17 and 20. All four people in the pickup were wearing seat belts and were not injured, though one report said the driver was taken to a hospital in Kalispell. Road conditions were dry and clear, and investigators do not suspect alcohol, drugs or speed as factors in the crash.

The details highlight the risks pedestrians face on Montana highways, especially on rural stretches built for fast-moving traffic and little else. The state Department of Transportation says its Share the Road program is part of a Vision Zero effort aimed at eliminating roadway deaths and injuries, including bicycle and pedestrian fatalities. The department says traffic crashes happen daily in Montana, and state highway safety officials continue working on countermeasures for known problem areas.

For Helena and Lewis and Clark County, the crash is a painful reminder that the reach of a roadway death does not stop at county lines. A young man from home was killed more than a little distance away, on a highway where a split-second encounter turned fatal and left one family preparing to mourn.