A white cross marks the site of a fatal crash along Hwy. 84
While Margaret "Megan" Petersen was driving from the Madison River after floating, her car drifted to the right.
She then overcorrected to the left, hitting a pickup truck head-on.
Petersen, 20, of Belgrade died Saturday at the scene of the wreck along Highway 84.
Investigators said alcohol was involved in the crash, adding that the highway gets dangerous when increased traffic combines with alcohol use, particularly with floaters.
While Madison County Sheriff Dave Schenk said there's nothing illegal about floating the river and drinking, problems begin to arise when floaters get behind the wheel and drive off.
"We always want (floaters) to have fun, but they need to be responsible when they get in the car to drive," Schenk said.
Alcohol was not necessarily the cause of the accident, authorities said, and it has not been confirmed whether Petersen had been drinking at the time.
No other serious injuries were reported from the crash.
Highway 84 has a high volume of traffic when floaters, campers, fly fishermen and others recreating on the Madison River.
On Saturday, vehicles were parked on both sides of the highway outside of designated parking areas. People were walking along the road against traffic, carrying tubes. At least one vehicle stopped traffic to pull over and pick up passengers.
Schenk said his department tries to make sure three or more officers are along the Madison River to monitor floaters, but the deputies are greatly outnumbered.
He said some days more than 150 people float the river in the summertime, and his deputies struggle to monitor them all.
"We try to watch and observe and help them stay safe," Schenk said. "Mainly we just try to be present."
Gallatin County Sheriff's Lt. Jason Jarrett said budget cuts and layoffs have caused deputies to be stretched too thin to patrol floaters.
"We used to monitor that area heavily," Jarrett said. "Now we're six to eight positions down, and we're struggling to answer emergency calls."
Jarrett said floaters have many opportunities to abuse alcohol on the river, but he advised against it.
"Alcohol makes very few things better, with the exception of a few desserts," he said.
Floaters should have a designated driver who is 100 percent sober, said Jenna Caplette, director of the Gallatin County DUI taskforce.
Caplette said the taskforce has paid for road signs warning against drinking and driving at popular floating destinations on the Madison River. Nine more signs are expected to go up along the river this summer.
"It's no secret that drinking and driving are issues with floating the river," Caplette said.
Caplette encouraged floaters to think ahead, to eat and to stay hydrated while they're on the river. She said people shouldn't be afraid to call police if they see someone breaking the law.
"It's not something to leave to the ‘specialists,'" she said. "The way to help is with people power on the road."
Story and photo courtesy of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle
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