MISSOULA - A fatal crash on Interstate 90 killed three people on Tuesday when their car spun into oncoming traffic and collided with a semi-truck.
The crash happened Dec. 23 when a Hyundai Elantra carrying three people was traveling westbound on I-90 near Drummond in Powell County.
The driver, a 40-year-old woman from Missoula, lost control of the vehicle, which spun through the median and into the path of an eastbound Volvo tractor-trailer.
The Montana Highway Patrol report states the impact split the Elantra into three pieces. One section came to rest on the interstate and caught fire, while a second piece landed beyond the flames. The third piece remained trapped under the semi-trailer.
The truck went off the right side of the road, crashed through a right-of-way fence, and came to a stop.
All three occupants of the Elantra were pronounced dead at the scene.
The victims were the 40-year-old woman from Missoula who was driving, a 31-year-old man from Marion, and a 9-year-old boy. The boy's town was not listed on the report.
The driver of the truck, a 34-year-old man from Ogden, Utah, was not injured.
The Montana Highway Patrol is investigating speed as a factor in the crash. The interstate was wet and icy at the time of the crash.
