Belfry man killed in Stillwater County crash

ABSAROKEE - A 71-year-old man from Belfry was killed in a one-vehicle crash near Absarokee.

The Montana Highway Patrol reports the crash happened Sunday shortly after 12 p.m. on Montana Highway 78 at mile marker 34.

The man who died was a passenger in a Ford Excursion hauling a camper trailer driven by a 53-year-old man from Red Lodge. Two other men were also passengers in the vehicle, and the patrol said none of the occupants were wearing seat belts.

The patrol reports the Excursion was northbound and "was having trouble maintaining its lane." The vehicle went off the right side of the road, re-entered the road and crossed the centerline before it crashed into the guardrail on the left side of the road, the patrol reports.

The 71-year-old passenger died on the scene. The three other occupants were not injured. Alcohol is a suspected factor in the crash, the patrol reports.