Update: 9:20 a.m. Saturday
The two people killed in a Billings West End crash Friday night were struck by a vehicle fleeing Billings police, Lt. Matt Lennick said in a Saturday news release.
Police arrested the suspect, 32-year-old Ricky Buchanan after he fled on foot, Lennick said.
The incident began 6:54 p.m., when police responded to a disturbance in a parking lot at the corner of Broadwater Avenue and 29th Street West. Once an officer arrived, the suspect, identified as Buchanan, fled in a vehicle, allegedly driving over the sidewalk and grass of a business on the corner and heading east on Broadwater at a high rate of speed, according to Lennick.
A second officer was about two blocks behind when the suspect vehicle hit another vehicle in the intersection of 24th Street West. The two vehicles then hit a third vehicle, which was stopped at the traffic light facing west.
The two people in the first vehicle that was struck were pronounced dead at the scene. Four people were inside the third vehicle, and they were all taken to the hospital with what Lennick called "non-life-threatening injuries."
Buchanan was arrested after fleeing on the 1800 block of Wyoming Avenue. He has not been formally charged.
The names of the two deceased people have not been released.
It's the second time in less than a week that a fatal crash has happened in Billings during an encounter with law enforcement. On Monday, two Yellowstone County sheriff's deputies were pursuing a suspect who had allegedly stolen a skid steer, and he ran a stop sign at the corner of North 20th Street and Fourth Avenue North and struck and killed a motorcyclist, Julian Wolf of Billings.
The suspect, Jimmy Joe Flanagan, faces a slew of charges, including vehicular homicide.
NOTE: A previous iteration of this article stated this was the second pursuit with law enforcement in less than a week. We have changed that language to reflect that Friday's incident was not a pursuit in the same manner as Monday's, in that Billings Police did not engage in pursuing the suspect until after the crash occurred and he fled on foot.
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Two employees at Softies ice cream shop located on 2407 Broadwater Ave witnessed the scene of the crash while at work on Friday.
"We were just talking, there was this car that flew by, but you just saw the car hit. I saw it spin three times, and then it smacked into this other car," said Taylen Faw.
At first, Faw and coworker Taysyn Dahlin were uncertain of the severity of the crash, but after seeing people rush to the scene, they knew the situation was serious.
"People were just surrounding it, and the airbags were all off, and it was just pretty bad," said Faw.
“It was just kind of crazy. It kept escalating, it seemed like," said Dahlin.
They watched emergency services arrive and police block off the area.
"Once they put the caution tape up, everyone was in that parking lot,” said Dahlin, pointing to the businesses diagonally from the shop.
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Here's the full release about Friday's fatalities from Lennick:
This release is regarding information for both C&O 24-62051 a disturbance at Broadwater and 29th Street West and 24-62051, a fatal crash which occurred in the intersection of Broadwater and 24th Street West involving a total of three vehicles. These two cases are related.
On September 13, 2024 at 6:54 pm Officers with the Billings Police Department were responding to an in progress disturbance in a parking lot at Broadwater and 29th Street West. As an Officer pulled into the parking lot the suspect fled in a vehicle traveling on the sidewalk and grass of the establishment located on this corner and onto Broadwater Avenue traveling east bound at a high rate of speed.
A second Officer who was responding to the initial disturbance observed the vehicle traveling on the grass and sidewalk and turned around in an attempt to catch up to the vehicle to initiate a traffic stop. This Officer was in approximately the 2600 block of Broadwater when the suspect entered into the intersection at 24th and struck a vehicle that was traveling northbound on 24th Street West. These vehicles then struck a third vehicle, which was stopped at the traffic light facing west bound.
The suspect then got out of his vehicle and fled on foot. Officers responding to the initial disturbance and crash gave chase on foot. The suspect was caught and arrested in the 1800 block of Wyoming Avenue. The suspect is identified as Ricky Buchanan, a 32 year old male. The suspect’s official charges will be updated when they are available.
The vehicle traveling north on 24th Street West was occupied by two individuals who sustained life threatening injuries and were both pronounced deceased on scene. The vehicle stopped at the stop light was occupied by four individuals, all of which were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The BPD crash team was called to the scene and took over the investigation. At the time of this release all of the lanes at the intersection of Broadwater and 24th Street West are closed. A social media update with be put out when the intersection is opened.
The BPD would like to thank the Billings Fire Department, Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, and AMR for their response and assistance in this investigation.
Update: 10:10 p.m.
Two people are dead following a crash on Billings West End Friday night.
Billings Police Lt. Matt Lennick told MTN News that police were called to domestic disturbance at the corner of 29th Street West and Broadwater Avenue, and a suspect fled.
The suspect then struck another vehicle at the corner of 24th Street West and Broadwater Avenue, and the two occupants of the vehicle were killed, according to Lennick.
A third vehicle was involved, and an occupant of that vehicle was taken to a local hospital, according to Lennick.
The suspect fled on foot following the crash and was captured and arrested at the 1800 block of Wyoming Avenue, according to Lennick.
This is a developing story. Check back for details.
(first report) Billings police are investigating a crash at the corner of 24th Street West and Broadwater Avenue.
The intersection was closed Friday night for what police are calling a "serious crash."
This is a developing story. Check back for details.
