Drivers identified after fatal crash involving bus in Rolette County

ROLETTE COUNTY, N.D. (Valley News Live) - A 70-year-old Belcourt man was killed after crashing into a bus heading to the casino Saturday.

It happened at the intersection of BIA Roads 8 and 11, approximately five miles west of Belcourt.

According to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, Edward Roy Thomas was driving a car westbound on BIA Road 8 and a 20-year-old man from Belcourt, Cole Brien, was driving an International bus southbound on BIA Road 11, en route from rural Belcourt to the Sky Dancer Hotel & Casino.

The Highway Patrol said around 9 p.m. the car disregarded the stop sign at the intersection and hit the bus causing both vehicles to leave the roadway, enter the ditch and roll.

Officers say Brien was wearing a seatbelt and was transported to Quentin N. Burdick Memorial Hospital with minor injuries. Thomas was not wearing a seatbelt and was pronounced dead on scene.