Motorist rescues his temporary passenger from river

The Daily Inter Lake

A good Samaritan who gave an out-of-state hitchhiker a ride through Kalispell on Thursday ended up rescuing his temporary passenger from the Stillwater River.

The Sheriff's Office said a motorist picked up a man south of Kalispell who was wearing no shirt and was wrapped in a blanket. As he proceeded north on U.S. 93, the hitchhiker asked to use the motorist's cell phone, then tossed the phone out the door, jumped out of the vehicle while it was traveling at full speed and headed for the Stillwater River just north of Reserve Drive.

When the driver saw the hitchhiker break through the ice on the river and fall into the water, he used his tow rope to pull the man out. The hitchhiker was taken by ambulance to Kalispell Regional Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.