Route 2 head-on accident injures two; Libby boy hurt critically

Two people were injured at 11:48 a.m. Monday — one of them critically — as the result of a head-on collision about six miles south of Libby on U.S. Route 2.

Patrick Faulkner, 15, of Libby was southbound on Route 2 when the1999 Toyota Carmry he was driving crossed the centerline and struck the northbound 1996 Ford F250 pickup truck driven by Robert Adkison, 64, also of Libby.

Faulkner was taken by ambulance to St. John’s Lutheran Hospital in Libby and then air-transported to Kalispell. Faulkner, whose condition was critical, suffered head and chest injuries.

Adkison, who was walking about the accident scene, also was transported to the hospital as a precaution.

Adkison told Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Bryce Ford he saw Faulkner’s silver Camry hit the westbound guardrail and then careen back onto the roadway before the impact.

Adkison told Trooper Ford: “There was no where for me to go. There were guardrails on both sides,” indicating he would have tried evasive maneuvers.

Adkison reportedly suffered  chest pains after the accident attributed to the impact. The airbag in the Ford F250 did not deploy, and a man who identified himself as Adkison’s son, said he was there to take a photo of the interior of the truck because the airbag did not deploy.

Trooper Ford said both vehicles were totaled as a result of the accident.

The Libby Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene and removed the roof of the Camry to extricate Faulkner.

“It does appear the (Faulkner) vehicle struck the westbound guardrail,” Ford said.

Ford was seen photographing the guardrail and the damaged side of the silver Camry.

The left-front quarter panel and driver’s side door of the Camry were most-heavily damaged. The left-front quarter panel of the truck also was damaged to the point the front wheel was flattened and locked up.

The accident, which was at mile-marker 38.6, occurred in an area known locally as Whiskey Hill.

“The accident still is under investigation,” Trooper Ford said. “Indications are the Camry crossed the centerline into the westbound lane. Yes, both drivers were wearing seatbelts.”

Faulkner is the son of Lincoln County Under-Sheriff Brent and Kate Faulkner of Libby.