Driver admits killing two pedestrians

A driver who killed two pedestrians near Plains in March 2007 has agreed to plead guilty to a pair of felony vehicular homicide charges.

In exchange for the plea, Daniel Wade Resler, 32, would face possible five-year sentences for each crime but be eligible for an intensive treatment program with the Montana Department of Corrections.

Resler's sentencing is scheduled March 4.

Resler admitted he was driving a truck while under the influence of alcohol and caused the deaths of Brad M. Williams, 19, of Somers and Kyle D. McCullugh, 16, of Kalispell.

The crash occurred just before 2 a.m. on March 3 when Williams and McCullugh were walking along the highway about a mile east of Plains on Montana 200.

Resler, driving a 2003 Dodge pickup truck, was westbound on Montana 200 when he drifted from the right side of the highway into the gravel and struck Williams and McCullugh, according to Montana Highway Patrolman Tony Cox.

He then appeared to have overcorrected, traveled back across both lanes and drove into a ditch on the south side of Montana 200, where the vehicle rolled over.

Williams died at the scene; McCullugh was flown to St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, where he died the following day.

According to the plea agreement, for each felony charge, Resler is to serve 30 years in the Department of Corrections, with 25 years suspended on each count.

Resler is to be incarcerated for at least one year prior to becoming eligible for the Watch Program, described by Sanders County Attorney Coleen Magera as an "intensive treatment program."

The plea agreement also stated that subsequent to completing the Watch Program, Resler will be considered for pre-release and other intensive supervision programs.

The plea deal also has a community service component that will require Resler to clean a one-mile stretch of Montana 200, make $100 donations in the names of Williams and McCullugh annually and work with either the Montana chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving or local schools on drinking and driving education for the next decade.

Magera said that the victims' families agree with the community service but feel the prison term is inadequate.

The families had requested prison terms of 19 and 16 years, representing the ages of Williams and McCullugh at the time of their deaths, Magera said.

Magera noted that no plea agreement conditions could alleviate the pain of the victims' loved ones, but said the agreement represents just resolution, particularly in light of "several evidentiary concerns that had to be considered in the negotiations."

District Court Judge Deborah Kim Christopher said she would accept the terms of the plea agreement.