Two dead after traffic stop on U.S. 93
U.S. 93 north and southbound lanes were shut down late Wednesday night into the early hours of Thursday morning following a police pursuit that ended near Happy Valley. When officers approached the vehicle they found two people dead of apparent gunshot wounds. Responding agencies included Kalispell Police,Flathead County Sheriff's Office and Montana Highway Patrol (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A traffic stop of a vehicle with Oregon plates in Kalispell Wednesday night ended with a bizarre twist when the vehicle fled and was later stopped again and approached by authorities, who found the male and female occupants dead from apparent gunshot wounds.
According to a news release, an officer with the Kalispell Police Department first stopped the vehicle around 9:45 p.m. on U.S. 93 just north of West Reserve Drive. The officer made contact briefly with a man and woman in the vehicle before the vehicle fled the scene, followed by a brief pursuit, the news release said.
The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office also responded and the vehicle was “stop sticked” with tire deflation devices and slowly exited the roadway near Bowdish Road, police reported.
“After attempts to deliver verbal commands, officers approached the vehicle to discover both occupants deceased from what are initially believed to be gunshot wounds,” the news release said.
Officers did not fire their weapons, according to the release.
U.S. 93 north and southbound lanes were shut down late Wednesday night into the early hours of Thursday morning following the police pursuit. The Montana Highway Patrol also responded to the incident.
As of this morning, the occupants of the vehicle had not been identified, police said.
The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.