BILLINGS — A central Montana woman is warning others to stay alert on rural highways after she says she was followed for miles and nearly run off the road during a frightening drive home Friday night.
Lizette Lamb said what began as a routine trip along Highway 191 quickly turned into what she described as a fight for her life.
“For 50-something miles, I pretty much fought for my life in a vehicle,” Lamb said.
Listen to Lizette tell her story:
Lamb was driving from Roundup to Glasgow when she stopped at a gas station in Grass Range around 7 p.m. While there, she noticed a newer white pickup truck with tinted windows parked nearby. The truck did not have a front license plate, and she made a note of the vehicle’s presence.
A short time after getting back on the road, Lamb said she noticed the same pickup behind her.
"I noticed that they were pulling too close to me, to my bumper, and at that moment, I just felt very uneasy," she said. "But I was like, 'OK, maybe they're just trying to go around me.'”
Instead, she said the truck began following closely, regardless of how her speed changed.
"I finally noticed that I was going probably 80, 85 miles an hour, which that was insane for me. I was like, 'Oh, my goodness, like, I'm going really fast, and they're almost tailgating me," said Lamb. “At that moment, I was like, my life is in danger."
Lamb said the situation escalated near a hill, where the driver of the pickup attempted to force her off the road. There, she noticed there were two males in the car.
“I realized they kind of almost went to the side of my driver side and trying to force me off the road," she said.
Lamb said she was unable to call 911 because of limited cell service in the area. At that point, she said she made a split-second decision.
“That's when I showed them pretty much that I had a gun," said Lamb. "They made a fast U-turn, and they turned the other way, and they took off.”
She believes that action may have saved her life.
“That's when all that became to me a reality, like it's something I think today, this moment, I might end up having to use my gun because it's my life. It's either them or me, and I choose me," she said, becoming emotional. "Just being in that moment, I hope nobody has to go through that because it really kind of just put a lot of things in perspective.”
After the encounter, Lamb contacted her husband, Travis Lamb, who reported the incident to the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office. Dispatchers confirmed the report with MTN, and Travis Lamb said that they informed him of receiving similar calls in the past.
Due to the rural nature of the area, response times can be lengthy. Travis Lamb said deputies were dispatched, but family members reached her before law enforcement arrived.
"That's not disparaging the Phillips County Sheriff's Office at all," he said. "That's the reality of where we live."
The following day, Travis Lamb shared the experience in a Facebook post, urging others to stay aware of their surroundings. The post quickly gained traction, drawing thousands of reactions, shares, and comments.
"I did it for the aspect of just making people aware that, 'Hey, you know, it's not the Montana that we all grew up in,” he said. "It's changed, and we have to change along with it, or we're going to be victims of it.”
However, what surprised the couple most was how many people reported similar encounters on the same journey from Roundup to Glasgow.
“The number of people that have had the exact same experience or something very, very similar just blows my mind,” said Travis Lamb.
Among them was Colombia Falls woman Holly Pierce, who said she had a comparable experience in December 2024 while driving on Highway 87 near Roundup, driving to Glasgow for a funeral.
"I was terrified for (Lizette) to be honest, I mean, I had somebody with me, and even with somebody with me, I was terrified," said Pierce.
Pierce said a truck repeatedly brake-checked her and her friend, who was in the vehicle with her, before coming to a complete stop in the roadway.
"I got next to him. He gunned it and started racing next to me, and I just could not get around him," she said. "I was going over a hundred miles an hour. I was just trying to get away from him.”
She eventually lost the vehicle but said the experience still affects her.
"It scares me to think what would happen if I would have stopped and said, 'Do you need help?'” said Pierce. "It was so crazy, and I think about what happens to the women who haven't gotten away."
Both women believe the lack of cell service in the remote area may make drivers more vulnerable, though the motive in both cases remains unclear.
“I don't think they were trying to scare me. I think it was more sinister. I think they had a plan,” said Lizette Lamb. “But I was like, I'm going to go home. I'm going to see my family.”
Now, the Lambs are urging others not to let their guard down and be aware of their surroundings, even in rural Montana, and always trust their instincts.
"Always be on red, like pay attention. Go with your gut instinct, and I'm glad that I followed that, and I did listen to my gut," said Lizette Lamb. "I think I did everything I was supposed to do right. I'm glad I never went further than that, and be in a different situation."
“Hindsight's 2020, but I'm proud of her what she did. I truly, truly believe saved her life," added Travis Lamb. "My girls have a mother still, and I have a wife still, and in the end, in the long run, that's all that matters.”
