Horrific ATV Accidents Claim Four Lives in Montana

Two separate ATV mishaps took the lives of four people in Montana early Sunday. With investigations ongoing, there are not a lot of details yet.

Still fresh in the minds of many of us here in western Montana is the loss of former University of Montana football standout Jesse Sims from Stevensville, whose life was taken in an ATV accident in May of this year.

What we learned from sources at Associated Press is that the first fatality was reported shortly after midnight Sunday. An unidentified Wolf Point man died when he was struck and killed by a train while he was attempting to cross the railroad tracks on an all-terrain vehicle. That incident occurred in the community of Oswego, Montana, which is about 12 miles west of Wolf Point. The 27-year-old man died at the scene of the crash.

In what must have been a gruesome scene, another accident claimed the lives of three people, all traveling in the same ATV. This accident also occurred this past Sunday morning, in an area east of Billings.

The Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office is investigating the cause of the crash, which involved a four-seat vehicle, found in a ravine in a field off U.S. Highway 87 East. People who were expecting the riders to return at a certain time notified authorities when they failed to do so. A preliminary investigation indicated the vehicle went into the ravine and struck the other side. A woman and two men were killed in the crash.