HUNGRY HORSE – The teenager who died in a crash early Sunday morning while leading police on a high-speed chase was driving a pickup that had been reported stolen in Kalispell, Columbia Falls Police Chief David Perry said Monday.
Fifteen-year-old Pierce Norman Beach of Hungry Horse was killed at approximately 12:30 a.m. when the 1995 Ford F-150 he was driving failed to negotiate a hairpin turn on a Flathead County road.
Trooper Josh Nanna, who is investigating the crash for the Montana Highway Patrol, said the truck was traveling so fast that it went airborne when it left River Junction Road in Hungry Horse, and was still about 15 feet off the ground when it struck a tree.
Two other boys, ages 17 and 18, were passengers in the stolen truck. Perry said one of them was injured and transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center, but he did not know his condition.
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An officer initially attempted to pull the truck over in Columbia Falls because one of its taillights was out, according to Perry. Instead, the truck took off.
“During the pursuit, it was determined that the vehicle had been reported stolen out of Kalispell,” Perry said.
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Nanna said the Ford had been reported stolen approximately three weeks ago. The truck reached speeds of up to 90 mph as it fled Columbia Falls, traveling east on U.S. Highway 2.
About five miles later in Hungry Horse, the truck turned off the highway onto River Junction Road. Approximately two-tenths of a mile later, the road almost doubled back on itself as it reversed direction and descended toward the South Fork of the Flathead River and passed underneath Highway 2.
“They were traveling too fast to negotiate the turn,” Nanna said.
Nanna said he does not believe alcohol or drugs were a factor, although he will await an autopsy report from the Montana State Crime Lab.
“I think they were probably running because it was a stolen vehicle,” Nanna said.
The trooper also indicated he believes two Columbia Falls police cars were the only law enforcement vehicles involved in the chase.
The investigation is continuing.
