Two seriously injured in Polson crash
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
UPDATED Thursday, Aug. 20
POLSON – Two people were seriously injured when the motorcycle they were riding crashed into a truck and horse trailer on Saturday afternoon in Polson near Fulkerson’s Corner.
According to Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Shad Andersen a motorcycle at the back of a group of Lake County Search and Rescue Poker Run Fundraisers failed to negotiate the corner, crossed into the oncoming lane and hit the corner of the truck.
Andersen said the motorcycle’s driver, Victor Moldenhauer, did not have a motorcycle endorsement, was going more than the suggested 45 miles per hour speed limit, and was unfamiliar with the motorcycle that Moldenhauer had borrowed from a friend.
Moldenhauer and his passenger Tana Bosker were both seriously injured. No one in the truck was injured. Neither alcohol nor drugs were a factor in the wreck, according to Andersen.
Although Moldenhauer did not have a motorcycle endorsement, he did have years of experience riding motorcycles, including dirt bikes, according to his brother Chris Moldenhauer.
"It was Victor's quick thinking that saved their lives," Chris Moldenhauer said, stating that Victor avoided a potential head-on collision with the truck.
Vic Moldenhauer, a member of Lake County Search and Rescue, suffered a broken back. As of Sunday evening he was in Kalispell Regional Medical Center’s Intensive Care Unit, and he was expected to undergo surgery Monday morning. Moldenhauer’s ex-wife Krystal Lee Poirier said he was expected to recover, but that the road to full health is likely to be a long one.
She said Moldenhauer is a hardworking construction worker and father of two young children who didn’t have health insurance. He devotes much of his time to Lake County Search and Rescue so that he can help others.
“It’s been about five years since he’s been vice-president of Lake County Search and Rescue,” Poirier said. “He is the kind of person who will drop everything if somebody is missing or a kid is missing. Even at 3 o’clock in the morning he will help people.”
Moldenhauer’s girlfriend, Tana Bosker, was also injured in the crash. She was airlifted to a hospital in Seattle, and had a broken ankle, pelvis, ribs, and a cracked vertebrae.
There will be a dinner benefit and silent auction to help cover the couple’s medical expenses on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 3 p.m. at Sportspage Bowl in Polson.
Items donated for the auction can be left at the Sportspage. For more information call Liz at 406-249-0422.
An account has been set up in their names at Whitefish Credit Union.
A GoFundMe account for the couple has been set up at http://www.gofundme.com/ssmz2vfm
