A shocking number of bad drivers repeatedly break the law by driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, speeding, failing to heed traffic signals and disregarding other rules. We would think that people who continue to endanger others with potential for a car accident would be taken off of the roads for good, but a recent accident near Helena proves that assertion wrong. Even people who are accused of felony driving offenses are allowed to remain on our nation’s roads, posing a hazard for their passengers and other drivers alike.
A woman who is already facing charges for vehicular homicide was involved in another accident on Interstate 15 late last week. The woman was behind the wheel of a vehicle that rolled over near Helena, according to official reports.
The driver, 30, and her 25-year-old passenger were transported to St. Peter’s Hospital after the car accident on April 25. They were each treated for non-life threatening injuries. Officers say that the pair was traveling to Helena from Great Falls.
Witnesses report that the accident happened when the woman, who was driving at a high rate of speed, clipped the rear end of a truck she was attempting to pass. The collision caused her sedan to flip several times and fly off the roadway. The vehicle landed on its roof in the median of the interstate near the Sierra Road underpass.
The woman currently faces charges of vehicular homicide in connection with a December accident in which a passenger in her car was killed. That wreck happened on U.S. Highway 12 east of Helena, according to official reports. In addition, that accident was caused by speed and drunk driving, according to court documents.
The woman has pleaded not guilty to the felony charges and her trial is slated to begin in June. Authorities have said that the woman’s license was not suspended as a result of the 2011 crash, so she was legally driving during the most recent accident. Officers say that alcohol did not play a role in the crash, which happened during the early afternoon hours.
Source: Helena IR, “Two injured in I-15 rollover; driver already facing negligent homicide charge after December wreck,” Dylan Brown, April 26, 2012