Driver fleeing Columbia Falls police hospitalizes teenage girl in car crash on Highway 2

The department said Flathead County Sheriff’s Office received a report about a stolen Dodge Durango on Friday at 8:56 p.m. The report said the stolen car was seen driving North on Highway 2 near East Reserve Road. 

Columbia Falls officers identified the stolen car “driving recklessly weaving through traffic and speeding” nearly ten minutes later, according to the office’s report. Two Columbia Falls officers attempted to stop the stolen Durango, but it accelerated once they turned their emergency lights on. 

The chase took them East on Highway 2 at speeds up to 80 miles per hour. 

At the intersection of Highway 2 and Highway 206, the stolen Durango hit another car, which had been turning west onto Highway 2. Both cars stopped in the intersection after the crash.

Police took the driver of the stolen car into custody. The driver of the other car, who was identified as a teenage girl, was transported to Logan Health in Kalispell. She was later moved to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. 

Investigation is underway by the Montana Highway Patrol, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and the Columbia Falls Police Department. 

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim and her family,” Columbia Falls Chief of Police Chad Stephens wrote in the department’s announcement about the incident.