Girl Killed When Rockslide Hits Family's Car At Glacier National Park

A deadly rockslide at Glacier National Park is prompting a warning about potential dangers for tourists. A family of five was driving along a popular Montana road when their car was hit by falling rocks, killing a teenage girl inside. Pat Cummings said sh

Wednesday, August 14th 2019, 10:27 am

By: News 9


A deadly rockslide at Glacier National Park is prompting a warning about potential dangers for tourists. A family of five was driving along a popular Montana road when their car was hit by falling rocks, killing a teenage girl inside.

Pat Cummings said she was driving down the road in Glacier National Park when traffic stopped amid sounds of horror.

"I could clearly hear a woman crying frantically, screaming, you know, 'Please help her. Someone please just help her,'" Cummings said.  

Park officials confirm a car driven by a family of five from Utah was caught in a rock fall that generated enough debris to fill the bed of a pickup truck. Some of the stones were a foot in diameter.

"Whether it's rain, whether it's wind, you know, all of these things can cause rocks to fall," said Lauren Alley, a spokesperson for the park. "But rockfall in this magnitude is very un

 

usual."

A 14-year-old girl in the car was killed. Her parents and two siblings were injured.

"If there had been more cars probably closer together, I do think it could have been worse," Cummings said.  

The rockslide happened on the 50-mile long "Going-to-the-Sun Road," driven by about 2 million people every year. The road's last rockfall death was more than two decades ago -- and the danger is not always preventable.

"It's a little bit tough to inspect the mountain above the road," Alley said. "Rocks are continually shedding as part of that geologic process."

© 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved

","published":"2019-08-14T15:27:59.000Z","updated":"2019-08-14T15:27:59.000Z","summary":"A deadly rockslide at Glacier National Park is prompting a warning about potential dangers for tourists. A family of five was driving along a popular Montana road when their car was hit by falling rocks, killing a teenage girl inside. Pat Cummings said sh","affiliate":{"_id":"5cc353fe1c9d440000d3b70f","callSign":"kwtv","origin":"https://www.news9.com"},"contentClass":"news","createdAt":"2020-01-31T18:33:39.842Z","updatedAt":"2022-03-30T20:28:47.742Z","__v":3,"show":true,"link":"/story/5e347303527dcf49dad7017a/girl-killed-when-rockslide-hits-familys-car-at-glacier-national-park","hasSchedule":false,"id":"5e347303527dcf49dad7017a"};
logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

August 14th, 2019

March 22nd, 2024

March 14th, 2024

February 9th, 2024

Top Headlines

April 25th, 2024

April 25th, 2024

April 25th, 2024

April 25th, 2024