Teens fine but vehicles totaled in Libby accident
Canda Harbaugh/The Western News Sheriff officers Duane Rhodes, left, and Nate Scofield examine the car after it was struck by a pickup below Shaugnessy Hill. No one was seriously injured in the accident.
Two teenagers are OK after an accident south of Libby on Highway 2 totaled both of their vehicles Tuesday.
Libby Volunteer Ambulance transported Shane Larson, 18, to St. John’s Lutheran Hospital for minor injuries, and Logan Kneller, 18, did not require medical treatment.
Kneller, who was driving southbound on the outside lane in his Chevy 3/4-ton pickup, plowed into the passenger side of Larson’s Honda, according to Montana Highway Patrolman Bruce Broden. Larson was taking a left turn in front of Kneller onto Shaugnessy Road.
Larson did not see Kneller’s pickup because his view was blocked by a motor home that was beside the pickup, waiting to turn left into Kootenai Truck Repair, Broden said.
According to Nicole Shaw, who witnessed the accident from a bicycle, Larson’s vehicle spun after impact. Its front passenger wheel came to a rest on the curb in front of Saverite South, with the car blocking Shaugnessy Road. The entire passenger side was caved in and mangled, and pieces of the car lay 20 feet away.
“By the time I noticed (the impending accident), it was too late to do anything but watch it happen,” Shaw said.
Larson’s dad, Steve Larson, stood at the scene after the ambulance transported his son to the hospital.
“It just looked like bruises,” Larson said about his son’s injuries. “Thank God he wears a seatbelt like I told him.”
Kneller solemnly waited at the scene for his dad to transport his pickup home. Though the exterior damage to the vehicle didn’t look extensive, it was more-than-likely totaled, Kneller said. It was leaking fluids and the brakes no longer worked.