Susan McDaniel Havre Daily News smcdaniel@havredailynews.com
A Box Elder woman died Tuesday night when a pickup packed with eight people hit a patch of ice and rolled on U. S. Highway 2 near Rudyard. A passenger, Kimberly D. Fuentez, 41, of Box Elder, died, said Hill County Deputy Coroner Steve Sapp. Fuentez was a passenger in the extended-cab truck, which also transported another adult, four teenagers and two infants. All were from Browning or Box Elder. The others involved in the one-vehicle accident were transported to Northern Montana Hospital in Havre. According to Lori Henderson, Northern Montana Hospital administrator, all are in good or fair condition this morning with the exception of an infant who was transferred to Great Falls in critical condition. A spokeswoman from Benefis declined to give any information on the condition of the infant. According to the Montana Highway Patrol, the 1999 Ford pickup was eastbound and had just passed a semitrailer truck. On returning to the eastbound lane, the pickup driver lost control on the ice. The pickup went off the left side of the road and rolled once. The accident happened about 10:45 Tuesday night. Speed and very icy road conditions played a factor in the crash, the Montana Highway Patrol said. None of the vehicles occupants were using seatbelts. The death pushed Montana’s 2006 traffic fatality toll to 262, compared to 248 on Dec. 26, 2005.
