MANHATTAN – Montana Highway Patrol said slick, icy road conditions and speed contributed to the Christmas Eve crash that claimed two lives on Interstate 90.
According to troopers, the pair were traveling on I90 near Manhattan when the car slid through the median and crashed head on into a semi truck, which then hit a Ford Edge.
Laci D Burkhart, 35, of Willow Creek, and Judd Richard Smutt, 41, of Bozeman were killed when the vehicle they were in traveled across the median and struck an eastbound semi head-on. Neither were reportedly wearing seat belts.
They were both pronounced dead on the scene. Although the semi jackknifed into another vehicle, no one else was injured in the accident.
The crash is still under investigation and officials are unsure if drugs or alcohol were involved.
