This day in history: Country singer hospitalized after mountaineering accident

From 1975: Country singer Hank Williams Jr. was in a Missoula hospital, recovering from head injuries suffered in a mountaineering accident.

He was climbing with a Beaverhead County rancher searching for mountain goats at the 9,000-foot level when he “slipped on a snow field.”

He slid for hundreds of yards down the snow field, and his head struck several rocks. The rancher went for help and came across a Forest Service employee, who called for a helicopter.

The copter landed about a quarter of a mile away, and six rescuers carried Williams to the landing site.

Williams was in fair condition with head, neck and internal injuries. It would take two years for him to completely recover.

From 1925: Motorists headed to football games in Pullman and Moscow, Idaho, could breathe a bit easier after the Inland Automobile Association announced it would provide “free towing and emergency services” to its members along the entire route.

The association had entered into agreements with garages in Pullman, Colfax, Moscow and Lewiston.

Breakdowns on rural roads were commonplace – and perilous – in that era, as illustrated by a different news story the same day. A Spokane man was in a Ferry County jail after his car broke down south of Republic, Washington. The sheriff arrived to help and discovered the car was full of smuggled liquor.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

2020: President Vladimir Putin announces Russia has become the first country to grant regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine called “Sputnik V” despite no scientific data being published.