2 journalists killed in multi-car pileup

By freedomforum.org staff

01.18.02

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Two Montana television news staffers on assignment were killed Jan. 12 in a 12-vehicle pileup caused by a dust storm.

Reporter Jennifer Hawkins, 22, and photographer David Gerdrum, 48, of KRTV in Great Falls were killed in the crash.

The dust storm was caused by 50-plus-mph winds that created brown-out conditions near the town of Belt on Jan. 12, according to reports carried by the station, the Great Falls Tribune and the Associated Press. The accident involved three semi-tractor trailers plus smaller vehicles and sent four other people to the hospital with minor injuries. U.S. Highway 87-89 was closed for four hours.

Joel Lundstad, KRTV news director, said Hawkins and Gerdrum were returning from a story they had been working on about Eagle Mount at Showdown Ski Area. Both were hard workers and had wonderful personalities that added greatly to the newsroom, he told the Tribune. "I don't think of these people as my employees; they were my family," he added.

On a memorial page for the two staffers, KRTV stated:

"At approximately 1:20 P.M. on January 12, 2002 KRTV Reporter Jennifer Hawkins and Photographer Dave Gerdrum were involved in an accident that took their lives. We thought Jennifer & Dave were two of the greatest people on earth. Jennifer had joined the KRTV news team about 3 ½ months before the tragic accident, Dave joined in August. They both prided themselves in their work, their professionalism, and were always a pleasure to work with. This page is dedicated to them, their friends and loved ones, and anyone else who ever had the honor to meet them."

The station left the page open for letters from viewers. As of this morning, about 60 comments had been posted.