BOZEMAN — Eight wrong-way driving incidents have occurred in the past eight months across Park, Gallatin, and Broadwater counties.
The eighth incident was a head-on collision on I-90 that happened early Wednesday morning, killing two men and resulting in the death of two dogs.
"There wasn't much left of a car we saw. It was just destroyed," says Charles Kramer, a traveler who stopped at Wheat, Montana.
Kramer is traveling from Minnesota. He was driving eastbound on I-90 when he suddenly stopped at a standstill. He saw the wreckage of the deadly head-on crash.
Broadwater County Sheriff Nick Rauser said the first call occurred at 7:19 a.m. Wednesday. The caller said the driver in front of them had just turned around on the interstate and was heading the wrong way.
A few more calls came in before the wrong-way driver slammed into an oncoming vehicle, killing both drivers; no one else was injured.
WATCH RELATED: 2 dead after wrong-way crash on I-90E near Three Forks
"It's a travesty. I saw that vehicle. I am a long-time retired deputy sheriff. I've seen so many of those, and they do not have to happen," says Butte resident Fred Parker.
Parker says wrong-way driving needs to be stopped.
"The highway department and the legislature—that's where it needs to be. You know, if at every entrance they put spike strips. If you go the wrong way, they puncture your tires. That's just one of many solutions. Putting a stop sign up and telling people they shouldn't go there isn't working," Parker says.
After entering the highway in the right direction, law enforcement believes the man made a U-turn a few miles east of the Helena/Ennis exit (Exit 274).
Sheriff Rauser says the man driving in the wrong direction was a 56-year-old man from Washington state. The driver of the vehicle that was struck is a 50-year-old man from Basin, Montana.
Montana Highway Patrol says drugs are suspected of being involved. They are still actively investigating.
