South African killed in truck crash near Harlem

A single-vehicle collision near Harlem claimed the life of a South African man early Friday, the Montana Highway Patrol said today.

Fransua R. Willers, 24, was killed after the 2001 Chevrolet pickup he was driving rolled along State Highway 241, Highway Patrol officer Jeff Martin said today. The accident occurred about 2:30 a.m. Friday about 3 miles north of Harlem.

The pickup's speed was estimated at more than 100 mph, Martin said.

Willers had been in the area working for a custom cutter, he added.

Willers was driving north when his truck drifted off the right side of the highway, struck an approach and became airborne, according to an MHP crash report.

The truck landed upright and then rolled, the report said. Willers was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, Martin said.

The pickup was equipped with OnStar service, which notified the Blaine County Sheriff's Office of an airbag deployment in the vehicle, according to the crash report.

Blaine County deputies responded to the crash and notified the Highway Patrol, which investigated the accident. Alcohol, speed and fatigue were factors in the crash, Martin said. Witnesses said Willers had consumed alcohol at a Harlem bar prior to the wreck, he added.

A toxicology report from the state crime lab is not yet available, Martin said.

The South African had been issued a nonresident commercial driver's license in Kansas, Martin said.