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News you can use
Chinook wrestler Jesse Dannels, right, competes against a Browning wrestler at the Havre invitational tournament in December. Dannels died as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash east of Chinook Sunday.
Tragedy struck the small community of Chinook Sunday when a crash involving a semitractor-trailer and a passenger car driven by Chinook High School student Jesse Dannels ended with the semi engulfed in flames and the death of the student.
The crash happened after 1 p.m., about seven miles east of Chinook, when Dannels' car veered across the centerline and hit the truck head-on, killing Dannels.
Chinook School Superintendent Darin Hannum said this morning that school is being "run as normal as possible."
Classes will continue, but the school is taking into consideration the circumstances and providing counseling to students and staff. Hannum added that Havre and Harlem schools are also making available counselors and clergy, anything to help the grief-stricken community.
"It's real tough. He was a real involved young man," Hannum said, sighing, before adding, "This young man has great impact."
The community is coming together to help close friends and family deal with the tragedy.
Eighteen-year-old Dannels wrestled Saturday in Chinook and took second place in the Northern B-C divisional tournament. He was scheduled to wrestle Friday in the state tournament in Billings.
Dannels was also a starter on the Chinook High School championship football team, where he played on the offensive and defensive lines.
Hannum said that Dannels was part of a close-knit athletic Hi-Line community that stretched beyond Chinook. The wrestling community is especially close and hit hard by the death of Dannels, who was well-liked, he added.
The crash, according to the press release from the Montana Highway Patrol, happened at 1:25 p.m. on U.S. Highway 2. Dannels was westbound when his car crossed the centerline and hit the oncoming truck that was carrying frozen beef.
Dannels was alone in the car.
The press release did not specify why Dannels' car veered out of its lane.
The impact sent Dannels' car into the north ditch and the semi into the south ditch before coming to a stop on the road and blocking both lanes. The semi then "became engulfed in flames," the report says.
The driver of the the semi truck safely escaped his vehicle. Dannels was found dead on the scene.
The memorial service for Jesse Dannels will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Chinook High School.
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