GREAT FALLS — A man charged with vehicular homicide while driving under the influence, appeared in Cascade County District Court on Wednesday, Jan. 29 via Zoom for a change of plea hearing.
Jeremey Andrew Carpenter was charged after driving southbound in the northbound lanes of I-15 between Ulm and Cascade on July 11, 2024, crashing into 58-year-old Daniel Orson Wells, who died at the scene.
Carpenter’s blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit, and cocaine was also present in his blood.
Carpenter pleaded guilty to a felony charge of vehicular homicide as part of a plea agreement on Wednesday.
Currently, vehicular homicide carries a maximum sentence of 30 years.
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Carpenter’s plea agreement recommends 20 years in prison, and another 10 years suspended.
His attorney, Jason Trinity Holden, told MTN News, “Mr. Carpenter has accepted responsibility and will comply with any sentence the court decides."
Penalties for killing someone while driving under the influence have been a topic at the Montana Legislature this week.
The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on House Bill 267, also called Bobby’s Law, which proposes that anyone who kills someone while driving with a blood alcohol content of twice the legal limit would be charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, without requiring prosecutors to prove the driver acted negligently.
The bill aims to strengthen drunk driving laws and hopefully deter drunk driving.
The Montana Department of Transportation reports that in 2022, 34% of all fatalities in Montana were the result of alcohol-impaired driving.
