One teenager killed, three injured in car crash in Lockwood

According to preliminary information from the Montana Highway Patrol, speeding and drunkenness were suspected as the causes of the accident. Saturday’s accident occurred just days before the start of the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer,” when the number of fatal accidents skyrockets nationwide during the summer months.

According to MHP, the four teenagers, two 18-year-old men and two 17-year-old boys, were traveling west in a Ford SUV on North Frontage Road in Lockwood shortly after 2 a.m. The driver, an 18-year-old, was apparently driving too fast, ran a stop sign and went off the road on a curve.

The SUV crossed an access road and collided with an embankment of the railway tracks. It overturned and came to rest on its side in front of a barbed wire fence. Although all four teenagers were wearing seat belts, the force of the impact threw the driver out. Rescue workers pronounced him dead at the scene of the accident. Two other teenagers were taken to local hospitals for treatment.

At least 63 people have died on Montana’s roads so far this year, and more than half of those deaths are suspected to be caused by drunkenness. Compared to the same time last year, the number of fatal crashes in 2024 is up.

In the United States, car crashes are the leading cause of death among teens, according to mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On average, eight teens die in fatal crashes each day, with the fatal crash rate among nighttime drivers nearly three times that of older adults.

The 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day regularly coincide with a sharp increase in the number of fatal crashes in the United States, and teenagers are especially at risk. Ahead of the weekend, MHP and the Montana Attorney General’s Office warned drivers to slow down, wear their seatbelts and avoid the road if they are drunk.

“Our patrol officers will have an increased presence on the streets and highways this weekend and throughout the summer to prevent dangerous situations on Montana’s roadways,” MHP Colonel Kurt Sager said in a statement released Friday.