Death Defying Multi-Vehicle Crashes Between Roberts and Boyd Demonstrate the Need to Slow Down While Driving in Dynamic Weather Conditions

Know what to do to avoid crashes and what to do if you are involved in a crash or your vehicle becomes disabled in dangerous road conditions

By Denise Rivette

Above left is a screenshot from Carbon County Sheriff’s Office video of the view from a CCSO vehicle camera showing the driver of a disabled vehicle in the road before the Undersheriff asked him to sit in the patrol vehicle for his safety. The right photo shows the same view 22 seconds later.

Yesterday’s shutdown of Highway 212 was caused by blowing snow conditions which resulted in several accidents. Sheriff Josh McQuillan was emphatic when he stated, “I cannot stress enough the need to slow down during weather events. Posted speed limits are the top speed allowed during ideal conditions. We have another few months before ideal conditions return.”

More blowing snow will affect the region throughout the weekend and more bouts of this sort of weather can be expected through Spring. Whenever there is snow on the ground and wind, there is the opportunity for blowing snow to affect driving conditions. Whiteout conditions and flash frozen roads are common and happen quickly and unexpectedly, be prepared. Call 511 or go to 511mt.net to get the most up to date information on Montana road conditions.

While the events detailed below in Carbon County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) social media post were occurring, two more accidents occurred in the immediate area, one was a hit and run that is still under investigation by the Montana Highway Patrol. The following is the social media post from CCSO.

On February 19, 2025, at approximately 1045 am hours, CCSO, Montana Highway Patrol, and Montana Department of Transportation were working with zero-low visibility and rapidly changing blowing-snow road conditions between Roberts and Boyd on US Highway 212 in which several motor vehicle slide-offs and non-injury crashes had previously occurred, but had just been cleared. Road conditions improved just long enough for them to rapidly deteriorate, and as CCSO and MHP were getting in position to conduct another temporary safety closure, CCSO came upon a two-vehicle crash. Immediately after CCSO discovered the fresh collision, a subsequent crash occurred with the first two vehicles.

CCSO contacted the driver of one of the first involved vehicles who was standing in the roadway, and asked him to sit inside of the patrol vehicle for his safety. Seconds after that driver sat in the patrol vehicle, a north-bound vehicle approached the crash scene at speeds estimated at 55 miles per hour and immediately struck two of the three previously involved vehicles. The CCSO Undersheriff was at the driver’s door of the parked patrol car retrieving equipment to assess the original involved driver’s and occupants when the most recent crash happened. He heard the collision and was able to run towards the rear of the patrol car just as the truck collided with the CCSO vehicle, missing both vehicles by a very small margin.

Two other subsequential crashes happed immediately following the rapid chain of event collisions. Immediate road closures were put in place at several locations in attempt to prevent further crashes, while multiple emergency response agencies were responding to the crash site.

Fortunately, there were no serious injuries or fatalities from this incident, and only a single driver was transported to a local hospital by ambulance [for minor injuries incurred when their air bag deployed].

We would like to thank the men and women of the following agencies who rushed to help all of those involved, and prevent further collisions or injuries to the motoring public: Montana Highway Patrol, Red Lodge Police Department, Roberts Fire Department, Joliet Fire Department, Joliet EMS, Red Lodge Fire-Rescue, Carbon Towing & Equipment, and the Montana Department of Transportation.

We can’t stress enough the safe driving responsibilities needed for our ever-changing weather conditions.

SLOW DOWN

TURN ON YOUR HEADLIGHTS

BUCKLE YOUR SEAT BELT

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VIDEO

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You can see in the above video that the person who is standing outside his vehicle narrowly escapes death or serious bodily injury. If you are in an accident or your car is disabled in dangerous driving conditions, the first and most important tip that CCSO wants to share with the public is

STAY IN YOUR CAR WITH YOUR SEATBELT FASTENED, LIGHTS AND FLASHERS ON, AND CALL 911.

Help will be on its way as soon as possible. Response times can be longer when road conditions are hazardous. Emergency vehicles have to travel the same roads and may have to triage service if there are multiple accidents.

They prefer you avoid accidents, serious injuries and death in the first place by

SLOWING DOWN, KEEPING HEADLIGHTS ON AND BUCKLING YOUR SEATBELT

While emergency responders and road crews would prefer you stay off the road during winter storms and periods of blowing snow, if you must be on the roadways, the National Weather Service has the following advice:

If you must drive during a storm, take the following precautions:

• Slow down! Even if the roads just look wet they could still be slick. More than 5,000 fatalities occur on the roadways each year due to weather conditions.

• Make sure your vehicle is completely clear of ice or snow before starting the trip. Flying snow from cars causes accidents.

• Let someone know where you are going and what route you will take. If something happens, this person will know where to start a search.

• Don't leave the house without the following a fully charged mobile phone, car charger and an emergency supplies kit in your car.

• If you are driving and begin to skid, remain calm, ease your foot off the gas and turn your wheels in the direction you want the front of the car to go. If you have an anti-lock braking system (ABS), apply steady pressure to the brake pedal. Never pump the brakes on an ABS equipped vehicle.

• If you are having trouble seeing due to weather conditions, pull over to the side of the road and stop your car until visibility improves. Turn off your lights and use your parking break when stopped so that another car won't mistakenly follow your tail/brake lights and end up hitting you.

If your car gets stuck during a storm:

• Stay in the vehicle!

  • If you leave your vehicle, you will become disoriented quickly in wind-driven snow and cold.

  • Run the motor about 10 minutes each hour for heat.

  • While running the motor, open the window a little for fresh air to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

  • Clear snow from the exhaust pipe to avoid gas poisoning.

• Be visible to rescuers.

  • Turn on the dome light at night when running the engine.

  • Tie a bright colored cloth, preferably red, to your antenna or door.

  • After snow stops falling, raise the hood to indicate you need help.