Teen charged in traffic fatality

A 15-year-old Kalispell boy was charged this week with one count of negligent homicide and one count of obstructing an officer for his role in the traffic death of a Columbia Falls woman.

The date for an adjudicatory hearing in Flathead County Youth Court, where the boy will plead guilty or not guilty, has not been set, according to the Flathead County Attorney's Office.

The boy's name has not been released because of his age.

Sara June Carter, 22, was killed in a July 13 crash on U.S. 2 near Glacier Park International Airport.

She was a passenger in a Hyundai traveling south when a pickup truck driven by the boy tried to make a U-turn in front of them.

The Hyundai's driver swerved into the northbound lane to avoid the truck when it collided head-on with another car.

The Hyundai skidded across the roadway and burst into flames. Carter was pulled from the burning car by other drivers who stopped to help.

She was transported by Three Rivers EMS to Kalispell Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead about an hour after the 8:13 p.m. accident, according to sheriff's Sgt. Lance Norman, a deputy Flathead County coroner.

There were five other teenagers in the truck at the time of the crash. The pickup truck left the scene of the accident, but was tracked down later.

The Hyundai's 23-year-old driver sustained only minor injuries. He was taken by ambulance to Kalispell Regional Medical Center where he was treated and released. The other car's 47-year-old driver also sustained minor injuries. He was taken to North Valley Hospital by private vehicle, where he was treated and released. Nobody in the pickup was injured, Montana Highway Patrol trooper Jerril Ren said.

If convicted, the boy could face up to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine for the negligent homicide charge and up to six months in jail or a $500 fine for the obstruction charge, according to the Flathead County Attorney's Office.