Category Archives: Montana

Missoula – Man charged with hitting 2 sisters on sidewalk, killing 1 | missoulian.com

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A man accused of driving drunk and swerving onto a Missoula sidewalk, killing a woman who was walking there with her sister, is scheduled to appear in Missoula County Justice Court this afternoon.

Tom George Vineyard, 38, faces charges of vehicular homicide while under the influence and negligent vehicular assault resulting in serious bodily injury, both felonies.

Vineyard, whose blood alcohol content was measured at about three times the legal driving limit, is accused of killing Roberta Demmert early this morning, according to charging documents filed by Deputy Missoula County Attorney Jason Marks.

read more here > Missoula man charged with hitting 2 sisters on sidewalk, killing 1.

Ashland, MT: Overnight crash leaves passenger dead. Alcohol suspected as a factor | billingsgazette.com

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Rosebud County Sheriff Randy Allies identified an Ashland woman who died Wednesday morning in a rollover crash as Crystal Marie Parker Redrobe, 25.

According to the Montana Highway Patrol, a Forsyth man, 29, was driving a Chevrolet pickup truck northbound on Birney Road, about 13 miles south of Ashland, when it veered into the southbound lane at about 2:15 a.m.

The driver overcorrected and the pickup slid across the northbound lane and off the east side of the road, where it rolled several times into a pasture, the patrol said.

Redrobe was trapped in the truck and died at the scene.

The crash threw the driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt, from the pickup. He was taken to a Lame Deer hospital to be treated for injuries. His condition wasn’t available as of 8 a.m.

A Highway Patrol report on the crash said that alcohol played a role in the crash. The investigation continues.

via Ashland woman killed, man injured in morning rollover.

Clinton, MT (UPDATED – SEE COMMENT THREAD): 8-year-old, wrong-way-driver dead after early morning crash. Alcohol suspected a factor | kaj18.com

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An eight-year-old boy was killed when a suspected drunk driver crashed into a car carrying a family of four.

Daniel Klabunde, 37, of Seattle, and his wife, Charlotte Gamble, 29, have been identified as the two adults of the vehicle that was struck by a driver who police believe may have been intoxicated.

It happened around 4:30 Sunday morning on Interstate 90 near Clinton.

Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Andrew Novak said a 33-year-old man drove the wrong way on the freeway and crashed into a red Honda carrying the family from Washington.

The wrong-way driver also died and Trooper Novak said there were many indicators that he had been drinking. The man was ejected from his pickup and then run over by another vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Klabunde was flown to a Seattle hospital with serious injuries. Gamble and a five-year-old boy who were in the car are in stable condition at St. Patrick Hospital.

Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Tony Rio said the family was just heading out on a vacation.

Billings, MT: Man released after serving 10 years for DUI #12 charged with #13 six weeks later | missoulian.com

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John Harvey Hoots

John Harvey Hoots

Bond was set at $100,000 on Wednesday for a Billings man charged with his 13th drunken-driving offense less than six weeks after he completed a 10-year stint behind bars for his 12th.

John Harvey Hoots, 53, appeared in Justice Court by video from the county jail following his arrest Tuesday evening. Judge Larry Herman set the high bond after prosecutors said Hoots has 12 prior DUI convictions and a criminal record in five states.

Hoots was released from prison on June 25 after serving a 10-year sentence his 12th DUI. Prosecutors said Hoots could face designation as a double persistent felony offender, which carries a minimum sentence enhancement of 10 years.

read more here > Released from prison in June, Billings man charged with DUI No. 13.

Missoula, MT: Motorcyclist charged with 8th DUI after Mullan Road crash | Missoulian.com

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A motorcyclist who tested at twice the legal driving limit for alcohol over the weekend already has seven convictions for driving under the influence, according to law enforcement.

Dale Blaine Fite, 57, was arrested after a report of a motorcycle crash at 7:44 p.m. Saturday at Mullan Road and Fairbanks Lane, according to charging documents filed against him.

Another motorcyclist, who was riding alongside Fite, told a Montana Highway Patrol officer that the two were coming from Frenchtown, the documents said. Fite’s speech was slurred and his breath smelled of alcohol, according to information filed by Deputy Missoula County Attorney Jordan Kilby.

“When asked how much he had to drink, Fite responded, ‘I can’t say.’ Fite stated he was drinking Black Velvet and Pepsi,” Kilby’s affidavit said.

A breath sample in the field put Fite’s alcohol level at 0.172 percent, more than twice the legal driving limit of 0.08 percent, it said. When he refused to provide another sample at the Missoula County Detention Facility, District Court Judge Karen Townsend authorized a search warrant for a blood test.

Records provided by the Highway Patrol Dispatch Center show that Fite has seven DUI convictions and that his license is suspended in Utah.

via Motorcyclist charged with 8th DUI after Mullan Road crash : Missoulian: News and Resources for Western Montana.

Billings, MT: Man charged with DUI No. 7 – The Billings Gazette

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A man who prosecutors said has six drunken-driving convictions in three states denied a new DUI charge Tuesday in Yellowstone County District Court.

Jason Jo Haagenson, 33, appeared before Judge Russell Fagg by video from the county jail and pleaded not guilty to felony DUI and misdemeanor counts of driving without a valid license and driving without insurance.

Fagg set bond at $12,500 and required Haagenson to submit to electronic monitoring if he is released form the jail. Prosecutors said Haagenson has six DUI convictions between 1997 and 2010 in North Carolina, Nevada and Montana.

via Man charged with DUI No. 7 : The Billings Gazette – Montana & Wyoming News.

Hamilton, MT: Reciting ABCs in man’s head leads to DUI charge. | KULR-8

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“A” is for alcohol and “B” is for bummer for a western Montana man charged with felony DUI after failing several field sobriety tests, including a request that he recite the alphabet. He told the officer he said his ABCs in his head.

full story here > No ABCs draws DUI for Montana man | KULR-8 News, Sports, Weather | – Billings, MontanaLocal Coupons | Montana State News.