Passenger testifies Miller was drunk

A key witness in the negligent homicide trial of Terry Dean Miller told jurors Tuesday that Miller was drunk when he fled from the scene of the 2006 crash that killed 40-year-old David Stewart McCann.

A passenger in Miller's car, 48-year-old Craig Bailey, testified that he and Miller had finished two pitchers of beer prior to leaving the Blue Moon bar the night of the Aug. 11, 2006 crash.

Bailey described to the jury the frantic moments immediately after the collision.

"I said, 'Let's go back,' but he said, 'But we've been drinking,' so I said, 'Then you take me the [expletive deleted] home," said Bailey, who was himself drunk at the time. "I told him, but he said, 'No way. I'm drunk.'"

Bailey told the jury Miller showed up at his Evergreen residence on the evening of the crash with a beer in hand. After a couple more beers at the house, Miller, Bailey, and a third man went to the Blue Moon - where Miller and Bailey drank two pitchers of beer and played two games of pool.

After dropping the third man off at his Columbia Falls home, Miller and Bailey headed back to Evergreen - and collided with McCann's motorcycle at the intersection of U.S. 2 and Montana 40.

Bailey, who was wanted at the time of the crash on a misdemeanor warrant out of Idaho for driving under the influence of alcohol, denied holding a knife to Miller's throat and forcing him the leave the accident scene.

He also told the jury he called 911 to report the crash after returning home because it was "the right thing to do."

"I wouldn't have called 911 is I was concerned about" the warrant, Bailey said.

Prosecutors played a recording of the 911 call to the jury. In it, Bailey can be heard asking how the motorcycle rider was doing and giving police Miller's name. But Bailey also appeared hesitant about turning in his friend, and lied about where the pair had been that night.

Bailey is currently serving time in a Minnesota prison for a felony DUI conviction.

Defense attorney Carolyn S. Gill, who has said Miller began drinking only after the crash, spent much of her time pointing out conflicting information in the several statements Bailey made to authorities.

During cross examination, Bailey said he believed that Miller thought he had the right-of-way.

"Terry thought he had it," said Bailey. It was just an accident. Terry thought he had it but her didn't."

Gill has said Miller and Bailey, in fact, went to the Finish Line in Kalispell to shoot some pool, and then on to Columbia Falls so Miller could collect some money loaned to a friend.

On the way back, Bailey began harassing Miller about stopping at the Blue Moon to see the rodeo, which Gill said Miller didn't want to do. The accident occurred as Bailey harassed Miller through the intersection of U.S. 2 and Montana 40, Gill suggested.

After his arrest, Miller, 45, was charged with negligent homicide and failure to remain at the scene of an accident, a misdemeanor.

He pleaded innocent to the charges in October 2006.

Montana Highway Patrol trooper Erick Fetterhoff testified Tuesday that Miller and Bailey were westbound on U.S. 2 at about 10:30 p.m. At the intersection with Montana 40, Miller failed to yield the right-of-way and turned left - to stay on U.S. 2 - in front of McCann's motorcycle, which was eastbound on Montana 40.

McCann, whose motorcycle struck the car's passenger side, died at the scene from massive blunt force trauma and a broken neck.

Three other people who witnessed the crash all gave the jury similar descriptions of the collision. One woman, who was driving immediately behind Miller, said she saw his car weaving in and out of the driving lane and was on the verge of calling 911 to report a drunk driver when the crash occurred.

When Miller's blood-alcohol level was tested four hours after the crash, it registered at 0.13, almost twice the legal limit.

McCann, who was staying with a friend up the North Fork, was a plumber from Oceanside, Calif. He did not own the motorcycle he was riding nor have a motorcycle endorsement at the time of the crash.

Defense attorneys on Tuesday called McCann's wife, Pam Walker, to the stand to testify about her husband's riding experience. She told the jury her husband rode motorcycles several times during each year of their two decade marriage.

"I would say he would be an intermediate rider," said Walker, who called her husband "mechanical-minded."

Miller's trial had been postponed four times. If convicted, Miller faces up to 21 years in prison and a $55,000 fine.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com