Havre, MontanaHavre Pedestrian Accident
Havre Pedestrian Accident Lawyers: First Street Crosswalk Crashes, Hit-and-Runs and Pedestrians Struck in Hill County
Boland Aarab PLLP.
In Havre, the state highway and the main street are the same road. US-2 runs through town as First Street, so people walking downtown, near the Amtrak station and across town cross a busy highway. If a driver hits you, Montana law requires them to yield in crosswalks and to use due care everywhere else. Hill County cases go to the Twelfth Judicial District Court in Havre, and most claims must be filed within 3 years.
Hit by a car while walking in Havre, or lost a loved one in a pedestrian crash? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Where are pedestrians at risk in Havre?
First Street (US-2). First Street carries US-2 through Havre. It is lined with businesses, parking lots and driveways, and it carries a mix of local traffic, semis and through travelers. The Montana Department of Transportation has worked on this corridor. It has resurfaced 2.3 miles of First Street (MDT). It has also proposed upgrading the signal hardware, pedestrian access and lanes at the intersection of US-2 and 19th Avenue West (Havre Daily News, 2020). Upgrades like these become evidence. They can show what a road owner knew about an intersection and when.
The Amtrak station area. Havre station, at 235 Main Street, is a daily service stop for the Empire Builder. Passengers, many of them visitors who don’t know the area, walk between the platform, parking lots and downtown, sometimes after dark.
Campus and schools. Students at Montana State University–Northern and at Havre’s schools walk and cross streets at the same busy times drivers are hurrying to work and class.
Winter. Months of short days put people on foot in the dark during the morning and evening commute. Snowbanks shrink sightlines at corners. Packed snow and ice push people off the sidewalk and into the street, and they lengthen a driver’s stopping distance.
Highway towns. In the smaller Hi-Line communities, US-2 or US-87 is often the main street, and people walk along or across a highway posted for through traffic.
The City of Havre, MDT and Hill County are preparing a Safe Streets and Roads for All safety plan for the Havre area. It includes sidewalks, intersections and turn lanes (KRTV). Plans like this can also document the hazards the community has already identified.
What happens after a pedestrian accident in Havre?
Reporting. In the city limits, the Havre Police Department investigates. Outside town, the Montana Highway Patrol or the Hill County Sheriff’s Office investigates. In a hit-and-run, give officers every detail you can, including the direction the vehicle went. Video from businesses along First Street is often recorded over within days, so it needs to be requested right away.
Medical care. Most people are taken first to Northern Montana Hospital, which the state’s November 2025 trauma list shows as not designated (DPHHS). People with serious injuries are often transferred to Benefis in Great Falls (ACS Level 2) or to Billings.
Courts. A lawsuit is filed in the Twelfth Judicial District Court, which serves Liberty, Hill and Chouteau Counties, at the Hill County Courthouse, 315 4th Street (§ 3-5-101, MCA). A case against an out-of-state driver or company may be heard in the federal Great Falls Division (D. Mont. L.R. 1.2(c)(3)).
Government defendants. If a road design, missing sidewalk or broken signal contributed, a claim may lie against the State, Hill County or the City of Havre. Those claims have written-notice requirements (§ 2-9-301, MCA) and damage caps (§ 2-9-108, MCA).
Montana law that applies
See our Montana pedestrian accident lawyer page for more. In short:
- Where there is no working signal, drivers must yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks and in unmarked crosswalks at intersections (§ 61-8-502, MCA).
- Outside a crosswalk, drivers must still use due care to avoid hitting a pedestrian (§ 61-8-504, MCA).
- A driver who hits someone must stop, give their information and render aid (§§ 61-7-103, 61-7-105, MCA).
- You can recover if your fault is not greater than the defendants’ combined fault (§ 27-1-702, MCA). The general deadline is 3 years (§ 27-2-204, MCA).
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Havre case?
Our office is in Great Falls, not Havre. We handle cases statewide. We come to Havre to walk the scene, request business video, meet clients and families, and appear in court. The legal work doesn’t change with the town: it means preserving evidence, proving what the driver could see, and dealing with every insurer involved. We also know Hi-Line juries, because we have tried a case in Phillips County.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We go to trial. Our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- We defend verdicts on appeal. A Phillips County jury’s verdict for our client was reinstated by the Montana Supreme Court (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137). Our appellate record is on our appellate results page.
- We have a municipal-negligence verdict. A jury awarded a net $115,000 against a Montana city in Jack v. City of White Sulphur Springs.
- We belong to the trial bar. Both attorneys belong to AAJ and MTLA.
Related Havre pages: bicycle accidents · wrongful death · Havre personal injury.
Frequently Asked Questions
I was hit crossing First Street away from a crosswalk. Do I have a case? Possibly. Drivers must use due care to avoid pedestrians even outside a crosswalk. Your recovery may be reduced by your share of fault, but it is not barred unless your fault is greater than the defendants’ combined fault.
The driver who hit me in Havre drove off. What now? Report it to the Havre Police Department right away, and ask businesses nearby to save their video. Your own uninsured motorist coverage may pay even though you were on foot.
Can the City of Havre be responsible for a pedestrian crash? If a defect in a city street, sidewalk or signal contributed, possibly. Claims against the city, the county or the State require written notice and are subject to damage caps, so talk with a lawyer early.
I was hit near the Amtrak station while traveling. Where would my case be heard? Usually in the Twelfth Judicial District Court in Havre. If you and the driver live in different states, the case may be heard in the federal court’s Great Falls Division.
Does it matter that it was dark and icy? It matters to the facts, but it isn’t a defense for the driver. In the dark and on ice, drivers must slow down and watch for people on foot.
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
