Rehberg to head home

Investigation into boat crash continues

The Daily Inter Lake and the Associated Press

U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg is expected to be released from the hospital today and head for his home in Billings, spokesman Jed Link said Sunday.

Rehberg is recuperating from an ankle injury and a fracture around his eye, injuries suffered in a boat crash Thursday night just south of Wayfarers State Park on Flathead Lake.

State Sen. Greg Barkus, R-Kalispell, was at the boat's helm.

Kalispell Regional Medical Center spokesman Jim Oliverson said on Sunday that he had talked with Rehberg for a short time Sunday afternoon.

"He and his dad were watching golf, and Tiger (Woods' missed a putt and Denny went 'ooh.' There were nurses in the room so quick you couldn't blink your eye twice," Oliverson said. "He apologized. They thought that he had a need," but it was just a reaction to the missed putt.

"He's doing very well, sitting up, enjoying it, just getting engaged. … He's just doing very well, coming along very, very quickly," Oliverson said.

There is no change in the medical status of others injured in the crash, he added.

"They're still stable," Oliverson said, citing a nurse he had spoken to. "That's good; they're not getting worse."

Dustin Frost, Rehberg's state director, received a serious but 'survivable" head injury and is under the care of a neurosurgeon.

Rehberg's former staff chief and family friend Erik Iverson on Saturday characterized it as a 'significant brain injury." The 27-year-old state director was responsive but not holding conversations, Iverson said.

Deputy Chief of Staff Kristin Smith suffered cuts to her face and head and several fractures, including her nose and wrist, but is expected to be released in a couple days. Oliverson said on Sunday that Smith is up and moving around.

Barkus was driving the 22-foot speedboat when it crashed onto rocks about 10:25 p.m. Thursday as the party of five returned from a dinner on the west side of the lake to Marina Cay Resort where Rehberg was staying.

Barkus and his wife, Kathleen, also were injured in the crash but reportedly were alert and doing well by Saturday.

The couple have hired an attorney, Todd Glazier of Kalispell, who issued a letter dated Aug. 29.

It is addressed "To Whom it May Concern," and names the Flathead County Attorney's Office, all law enforcement and all hospital staff, including all law, media and medical staff. It directs that no information is to be released regarding the Barkuses' conditions or any details of their connection to the crash, except through the law firm.

A call to the Glazier Law Firm for information on Sunday was not immediately returned.

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks began investigating the crash, but by midday Friday the Flathead County Sheriff's Department had taken over the lead. Inquiries with deputies and the shift sergeant in the sheriff's office on Sunday afternoon turned up no new information on the investigation.

One point in the investigation is blood alcohol levels. Rehberg's reportedly was .05, below the legal limit to drive the boat - although, Iverson stressed, it was not his boat and he was not driving.

Flathead County Sheriff's Department Detective Sgt. Dave Leib said Saturday that investigators will try to obtain a blood sample from Barkus for analysis at the state crime lab.

The boat has been impounded, and investigators will apply for a search warrant.