Man sentenced for fatal crash

Andrew Lane Johnson to spend 30 days in jail for Fifield accident

Andrew Lane Johnson, the driver of a truck that killed 16-year-old Allison Fifield in June, will spend 30 days in jail.

District Judge Kitty Curtis on Thursday sentenced Johnson to 10 years in prison for criminal endangerment and suspended all of the prison term. He must, however, spend 30 days in the county jail.

Johnson married and takes care of a woman who was left a paraplegic after she was hit by a driver. She asked Curtis not to send him to prison.

Curtis urged Johnson to consider what his carelessness took away from Fifields family.

Think about it every minute of every day, she said. They will, too.

Fifield died on June 23 at the intersection of West Reserve Drive and Stillwater Drive. Johnson drove his dump truck through the intersection and smashed into Fifields Subaru. Johnson rolled past a stop sign that would have saved Fifields life if he had obeyed it.

Her parents, Paul and Marlene Fifield, didnt take advantage of a chance to speak directly to Johnson in court. They did testify about the impact of their daughters death.

Its getting harder every day, Paul Fifield said. Most days, I feel like Im walking a tight rope.

Every day, we drive by the intersection where she was killed. Its hard to avoid it.

The quietness in the house is something were not used to. We walk by her room and its empty.

We just feel like shes been stolen from us.

His wife, Marlene, held their surviving daughter, Rebecca, while he testified.

Like her husband, she said Johnson should spend some time in jail.

You cant say what it does to you when you lose a kid, she said. Every day, it gets worse, not better.

Johnson, 51, cried uncontrollably at his sentencing.

I know I ripped the hearts of the Fifields, Johnson said. All I can say is, Im very, very sorry.

After testifying, he put his hands over the back of his bowed head and sobbed.

His wife, Lynn, described him as having compassion, empathy and humility. He will never be quite the same after the accident, she said.

He takes care of her overwhelming physical needs and she feared what would happen to her if he went to prison.

Im afraid if I lose Lane, the state of Montana will put me in a nursing home, she said.

Probation and parole officer Molly Miller originally had recommended no jail time for Johnson, but changed her mind at sentencing and recommended 60 days.

County Attorney Ed Corrigan agreed with that.

You cant put a price on the life of a child, judge, he told Curtis. However, he said Johnson clearly never considered the outcome of his behavior when he ran the stop sign.

Defense attorney Jack Quatman asked for no jail time.

There but for the grace of God go all of us, he said. We ask that the tragedy of this event not be compounded.

Johnson is incredibly hard-working and loyal with no criminal history, Quatman said.

But Curtis said, We dont either punish or reward people for the kind of person they are. Courts instead respond to peoples behavior in a given event.

Its always my hope that our court system sends a message to others.

Besides the jail sentence, Curtis ordered Johnson to perform community service.

It will be up to Miller to decide what form of community service is appropriate.

One of the alternatives suggested in court is for Johnson to stand with a stop sign at the intersection where Fifield died to remind other drivers how high the consequences of carelessness can be.

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at csabol@dailyinterlake.com