Fans of rugged reality hit “Ice Road Truckers” are beginning the week on a sad note with the devastating news of the death of star Darrell Ward, who died in a plane crash while flying home to Missoula, Montana.
According to KPAX Channel 8, Missoula County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Dunster says the small plane — a Cessna 182 — carrying Ward was making an approach to land at a private airstrip when witnesses report the aircraft appeared to stall, and crashed onto the shoulder of the I-90 highway.
The sad news was confirmed on Ward’s Facebook page, which issued a press release noting that Ward, 52, was on his way home from attending the Great American Truck Show in Dallas, Texas, when the fatal crash occurred.
“The things Darrell loved most were his family, including his kids and grand-kids & trucking,” notes the Facebook post.
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“Darrell Ward rose to fame with his role on the extremely popular History Channel’s reality show, ‘Ice Road Truckers’,” the post continues. “Darrell just finished filming Season X earlier this year for the show and had just learned that he had a green light this past weekend for an additional season on the show originally slated to begin filming in the winter of 2017. When Darrell wasn’t hitting the Ice Roads he would be back in Montana doing what Darrell loved best as a log hauler and occasionally helped local authorities fight forest fires.”
Ward’s motto, adds the Facebook post, was “Any road, any load,” which “fit his personality perfectly.”
“While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief,” concludes the post. “His manager and best friend M. Bob Stanton and long time friend Chuck Campbell are expected to make a lengthier statement shortly.”
