Charges lowered in 2006 traffic death

Stefanie Ann Schauf, who is charged in the July 1, 2006, traffic death of Brett Adams of Bigfork, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to amended felony charges.

Initially, charges filed against the 26-year-old Kalispell woman were negligent homicide for Adams' death, and two counts of vehicular assault for injuries sustained by two others. She earlier pleaded not guilty to those felony charges, as well.

On Tuesday, she was charged with vehicular homicide while under the influence, negligent vehicular assault and criminal endangerment.

All are felonies.

Her trial is scheduled tentatively for the last week of July. Schauf's attorney is George Best and the prosecutor is Deputy County Attorney Lori Adams.

Schauf allegedly was driving under the influence of alcohol when she got into her car and traveled south on U.S. 93 from Whitefish just before 1:30 a.m. July 1. As she neared Happy Valley, her Mazda Miata plowed into the back of a Dodge pickup driven by Christopher Gray, 27, of Bigfork.

Adams, 24, also of Bigfork, was a passenger in the truck. He was thrown from the truck and later died of a brain injury, coroner and then-Undersheriff Mike Meehan determined. Gray and a woman who sat between the men in the truck also were hospitalized for their injuries.

Schauf's car went into the ditch and caught fire. She was treated for minor injuries and released.

Officials said none of the three in the truck had significant amounts of alcohol in their systems.

Officials drew blood from Schauf after she refused to give a breath test at the scene. They found her blood-alcohol level was .34 percent - more than four times the legal limit of .08 percent.

Schauf was jailed after the crash, but was released after posting an $80,000 property bond. As a condition of release, she was to stay away from alcohol.

On April 9, she was jailed for allegedly violating terms of her release, but met the $20,000 bond set at that time and was released again.