First responders pronounced the two kids, a five-year-old boy and girl, dead at the scene after the UTV they were traveling in was struck by a sedan at the intersection of Hofferber Road and Shepherd Acton Road. The 13-year-old driver of the UTV was transported to a Billings hospital, according to a statement from Montana Highway Patrol.

The teenage girl was driving a Kawasaki UTV north on Hofferber Road on Friday afternoon. When she reached Shepherd Acton Road, she allegedly had driven in front of an 18-year-old woman driving a Subaru Legacy westbound. The Subaru struck the UTV on its passenger side, rotating the vehicle until it came to a stop in a nearby irrigation ditch, according to preliminary information from MHP.

All four people involved in the collision were Shepherd residents. Neither drugs, alcohol nor speed are suspected to be factors in the crash. MHP did not provide any information on the condition of the driver of the Subaru.

At least 55 people have died on Montana’s roads so far this year, according to the latest crash data from MHP. The “100 Deadly Days of Summer,” the time of the year when fatal crashes typically spike nationwide, began Memorial Day weekend. Going into June , MHP has responded to less deadly crashes compared to last year, with nearly 80 fatalities reported at the start of June 2021.