‘Speed, Possibly Alcohol, And No Seat Belts’: Four Teenagers Killed In Single-Vehicle Crash In Montana

Four teenagers were killed in a single-vehicle crash after hitting a metal pole in a fairly empty industrial area in Billings, Montana. Billings Police say the possible use of alcohol, speed and no seatbelts contributed to the accident at 2 a.m. on December 16.

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The Mercury Mountaineer apparently went off the roadway, which caused the driver to lose control and crash into a large metal pole supporting a sign for a business, the Billings Police Department said in a statement. Two of the teens died at the scene of the crash. Two others suffered critical injuries and were taken to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead.

Two 14-year-old girls, a 17-year-old male and an 18-year-old male were all killed. Their identities haven’t been released by police.

A small memorial was erected at the crash site on December 17. People left flowers and wrote notes on a posterboard taped to the pole the victims’ vehicle ran into, according to Fox News.

Ryan Pitman, a friend of the victims who was visiting the crash site with his father, said he had dropped off the two girls at the 18-year-old’s house earlier on the night of the accident. Later, Pitman said, he was returning back to the house to pick up the three younger victims when he crashed his own vehicle, according to Pitman and his father.

A short time later, the 17-year-old victim was driving the two girls home with the fourth victim also in the car when they crashed, said Pitman, whose father is a former Yellowstone County commissioner.

Pitman said the girls died at the scene and other two were taken to the hospital, where Pitman, 17, was being treated following his crash.

”They were all great,” Pitman said of the victims.

We still don’t know what events led up to the crash, how fast they were going, or if they are confirmed to have been drinking.