A bill to create a sentencing minimum for some fatal DUIs in Montana has cleared the state House by wide margins and is poised to do the same in the Senate after passing an initial vote 45-5.
Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, is sponsoring House Bill 267 to strengthen penalties for DUIs that result in a death by establishing the crime of aggravated vehicular homicide while under the influence. The new law would only be applicable to alcohol and not other drugs.
The bill, dubbed “Bobby’s Law,” will impose a minimum sentence of three years and a maximum of 30 years for someone found guilty of killing a person while in the “aggravated state,” meaning they have a blood alcohol concentration of at least 0.16, or double the legal limit. Mitchell said he brought the bill in honor of Robert “Bobby” Dewbre, his family friend and neighbor who was hit and killed by a drunken driver on his 21st birthday.
Mitchell said on the House floor during debate Feb. 6 that Montana is among the few states that do not have an aggravated vehicular homicide while under the influence provision in state law. Florida, for example, has a four-year minimum sentence. Other states such as Texas and California also have their own laws regarding aggravated vehicular homicide while under the influence. Mitchell argued that HB 267 will show Montana’s commitment to making roads safer across the state.
There is currently no minimum prison sentence for a person convicted of vehicular homicide while under the influence in Montana. The maximum penalty is 30 years and a fine of up to $50,000.
Watch related coverage: Family, friends of Montana crash victims advocate for tougher DUI laws
“One of the worst parts about all of this is the person who killed him barely faced any consequences even though he killed someone,” Mitchell said of Dewbre. In that case, the drunken driver was sentenced to 18 months in county jail. Mitchell called this sentencing “unfathomable.”
Mitchell said he worked closely with Dewbre’s mother and others to create the legislation.
A U.S. Department of Transportation report from 2021 found that 44% of driving fatalities in Montana involved alcohol — the highest rate in the nation. In January, Forbes ranked Montana the worst state for drunken driving.
“A judge can’t delay or suspend the sentencing with an amendment. The court cannot suspend execution of the first three years of that sentence,” Mitchell said of what his bill would accomplish, adding there are “exceptions for those who are under 18 or have mental issues.”
‘Bar Fairies' pack committee hearing
One of the largest committee rooms inside the Capitol was packed with people who came to testify in support of the bill March 27. Many wore black, long-sleeved crewnecks that read “Montana Bar Fairies,” a nonprofit created by Dewbre’s mother and sister to advocate for sober rides and safer roads.
Elizabeth McBride, Dewbre’s mother, was the first proponent to address the committee. She spoke about the tragedy her family faced and said the man who killed her son “was sentenced to 18 months in the county jail. The sentencing was Oct. 31, 2023. Unbelievably the man that took my son’s life will be released next month. The driver’s blood alcohol content was 0.20, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, yet he was charged with merely two misdemeanors,” McBride said.
“We are not suggesting that people stop drinking but we are imploring you to send the clear message that getting drunk and then getting behind the wheel will not be tolerated.”
Robert Dewbre, Bobby Dewbre’s father, also spoke in support of the bill. He said he made mistakes in the past and grew up with a culture of drinking and driving, telling the committee he’d been charged with two DUIs over a 20-year span.
“Drinking and driving was normalized for me at a young age and as an adult I took to it like a fish to water,” he said.
Watch related coverage: Montana Bar Fairies promoting a sober ride home following family tragedy
Dewbre told the committee that throughout the 20-year period, he continually drove under the influence.
“If I needed to get somewhere, I went regardless. And believe me when I tell you that I was not alone because drinking and driving was and is a part of the culture in the state of Montana. And to be honest I did not worry much about the threat of DUIs either, the fine, the night in jail,” Dewbre said. “ … They all basically amounted to a slap on the wrist. I had to quit drinking completely to break that chain.”
Carli Seymour, Bobby Dewbre’s older sister, said she attended the hearing to speak for the next family that will be affected by drunken driving in Montana.
“We have lost too many innocent Montanans and for too long we have neglected their families,” she told the committee. “We cannot continue to be complacent when the reality is that your constituents are being peeled off the pavement and sent to the morgue with shocking unacceptable regularity.”
Twenty-eight individuals spoke in support of the bill, with many more choosing not to speak but raising their hands to show their support of the bill. No one that attended the packed committee room spoke in opposition.
Mothers Meet
While Native Americans make up 6.7% of Montana’s population, they account for 17% of motor vehicle crash deaths in the state each year, according to the state Department of Transportation.
In her testimony supporting HB 267, Alissa Snow, representing the Blackfeet Tribe, Fort Belknap Indian Community, and the Chippewa Cree Tribe, spoke of Mika Westwolf. Westwolf, 22 and a citizen of the Blackfeet Nation, was killed in a hit-and-run in March 2023. Westwolf’s mother is a close friend of Snow and Westwolf “was like my niece,” Snow said during her testimony.
“Mika Westwolf was walking home on Highway 93 north of Arlee and was struck and killed by Sunny White, who did not render aid or call for assistance. She left her on the side of the road, where her body was found almost immediately after. Evidence at the scene showed she had never even attempted to slow down or stop. She was apprehended right away,” Snow said. “She had her two children with her and was later found to be under the influence.”
Snow said Westwolf’s family advocated for justice for two years, hosting awareness walks and demanding action. Sunny White was sentenced in February to 10 years in the Montana State Women’s Prison for vehicular homicide. White tested positive for fentanyl and methamphetamine shortly after striking Westwolf and received the maximum sentence. Snow noted in her testimony that not all families see justice in their loved ones’ deaths.
Westwolf’s mother, Carissa Heavy Runner, chose not to testify during a hearing for the bill. Snow spoke on her behalf, allowing Heavy Runner to remain home with family to focus on self-healing, with the two-year mark after Westwolf’s death bringing the trauma back into focus.
Watch related coverage: Mika Westwolf's family reflects on sentencing of daughter's killer
“The importance of self-care is very new to me. There is no handbook on this type of thing. At the beginning of these things it’s the family that is doing the investigation even though you are in a very vulnerable state, when you should be able to just grieve,” Heavy Runner told Montana Free Press.
In an interview with MTFP and ICT, Heavy Runner spoke about how she was introduced to Elizabeth McBride, Bobby Dewbre’s mother.
“We met over the Mika Matters website, that is how Beth reached out to me. She asked me if I wanted to testify on Bobby’s Law [HB 267]. Beth introduced me to the Montana Bar Fairies and I told her about the MMIP [Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples] movement,” Heavy Runner said. “Beth asked if I would like to have Mika’s picture and her story on the back of the card to help with awareness.”
That’s the strategy the Montana Bar Fairies use to advocate for people out drinking to get a sober driver.
“At the crack of dawn on weekend mornings, we patrol the parking lots of local gathering spots and bars, searching for cars left overnight. When we spot a car from the previous night, we discreetly leave a card and a $5 gift card to a local coffee shop as a token of gratitude for choosing not to drive home under the influence,” reads the organization’s website.
Heavy Runner met McBride in person for the first time at White’s sentencing.
“Meeting face-to-face was a very powerful day, with all the supporters being there at the sentencing, we related through the love of our children,” Heavy Runner said.
The Montana Bar Fairies is a nonprofit organization that began with family members and now has locations in Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Big Fork, as well as a new branch in Missoula.
HB 267 cleared the House last month and on Wednesday it passed a second reading in the Senate with a strong bipartisan vote. The bill saw a technical amendment while in the Senate Judiciary Committee, meaning if it passes a third reading in the Senate expected in coming days it will go back to the House once more before it could reach the governor’s desk.
This story was originally published by Montana Free Press at montanafreepress.org.
