Accident claims life of Lincoln man

An accident late on Beaver Creek Road Wednesday night, Oct. 21, claimed the life of Lincoln resident Chris Buster, 44, when his pickup went off the road about five miles north of Highway 200.

Lewis and Clark County Dispatch received word of the accident at 10:40 a.m. Thursday

Buster failed to return to his home in Lincoln Wednesday night after spending the day scouting for elk. Bobbijean and friends discovered the accident Thursday morning.

Montana State Highway Patrol Trooper Tom Kruse, who was investigating the accident, said Bobbijean knew he'd gotten fuel in Ovando and began backtracking the route she believed he had taken to Lincoln over Huckleberry Pass.

Kruse said it appeared Buster was traveling too fast for the conditions and failed to negotiate a corner on a slight downhill S curve in the road. The pickup went off the road, clipped one tree and continued on at an angle, hitting two other trees.

Kruse said Buster was partially ejected through the passenger side, and believes he was unrestrained at the time of the crash. A deputy coroner determined his death was due to blunt force trauma and ruled it as accidental, according to Lewis and Clark County Sheriff/Coroner Leo Dutton.

Buster passed away five days shy of his 45th birthday.

Bobbijean, who works at Citizens Alliance Bank in Lincoln and serves as an Emergency Medical Responder with the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance, has seen her friends and co-workers turn out to help support her, Buster's children Dianne and Bruce, and his parents Curtiss and Bobbie.

"We'll support her as much as we can," said Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance President Aaron Birkholz. "She's an active responder. We'll do anything we can for her."

Brenna Clark, a Citizen's Alliance Bank co-worker of Bobbijean's, has set up a GoFundMe fundraising account to help the family with funeral costs and financial support. She also created a page on mealtrain.com, which allows friends to help by providing and coordinating meals or by donating funds.

Donations can also be made directly at Citizen's Alliance Bank.