Spokane man killed in Hwy 135 crash

A 47-year-old Spokane man died last week after a vehicle crash on Highway 135 near Paradise.

Montana Highway Patrol reported that the man was the passenger in an SUV that was traveling north on Highway 135. The vehicle veered off the ridge side of the roadway near mile marker 14 after the passenger grabbed the steering wheel and distracted the driver. The vehicle began to slide sideways and the passenger side impacted a tree, causing extreme damage to the passenger side compartment, MHP reported. The vehicle flipped, rolled and came to rest on its passenger side.

The man was pronounced dead on arrival of emergency personnel. The driver of a vehicle, a 20-year-old female from Sedro Woolley, Washington, was injured and transported to Clark Fork Valley Hospital. MHP reported that the passenger was not wearing a seatbelt and that alcohol and drugs were suspected in the incident.