BOZEMAN - The two suspects in the fatal hit-and-run crash between Belgrade and Manhattan were arrested on Sunday, Aug. 13 2023.
The suspects, Gerald Johnson Jr, and Hollie Kittle were both charged with Negligent Homicide, and Kittle was additionally charged with Tampering with or Fabricating Physical Evidence.
According to charging documents, at approximately 10:13 p.m. on Sunday, August 6, a Montana Highway Patrol officer was dispatched to a crash involving a pickup truck and motorcycle at the intersection of Frontage and Thorpe roads. When the officer arrived, the pickup truck had reportedly already fled the scene.
The motorcyclist, later identified as 28-year-old Hunter Berry of Manhattan, was transported to Bozeman Deaconess Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
On Aug. 7, MHP requested the public’s help locating the pickup truck. A person with an ACME storage facility in Belgrade reportedly provided footage of a pickup truck matching the description of the one involved in the crash.
The driver of the pickup truck was identified as Kittle. An ACME storage representative described Kittle as a “problem tenant”.
According to charging documents, Johnson was arrested on a warrant and told officers in an interview that Kittle drove the vehicle until the I-90 overpass on Thorpe Rd then he switched into the driver’s seat. Johnson reportedly told officers he was driving when the crash occurred with the motorcyclist.
When Kittle was arrested, she allegedly told officers in an interview that she knew the vehicle was involved in a crash and was aware that law enforcement was investigating. She reportedly told officers that she repaired the taillight lens which was evidence of the crash.
