Couple dies in car accident at Noxon

A local couple died Thursday afternoon

after being broadsided by a semi-truck on Highway 200 at Noxon,

according to law-enforcement officials.

Frank Eugene Shockley Jr., 51, and

April Atwood, 50, were pronounced dead on scene after emergency

responders arrived, officials said.

The couple had moved to Noxon a few

months ago from the Libby-Troy area, according to Montana Highway

Patrol Trooper Richard Hader.

Shockley was driving westbound on

Highway 200 in a 1970 Ford pickup when he began to make a left turn

at the Noxon interchange near mile marker 15.4, according to Hader.

In mid-turn the pickup was struck by an eastbound 1994 Kenworth

semi-truck loaded with 44,000 pounds of wood pellets, he said.

The truck driver was not injured.

Sanders County dispatch received the

911 call 12:46 p.m.

Alcohol was a factor in the crash, but

speed was not, Hader said.

The roads were bare and wet at the time

of the accident.

Shockley and Atwood were not wearing

seatbelts.