Woman pleads innocent in crash

A Kalispell woman has pleaded innocent to causing a June drunken driving crash on U.S. 2 in Evergreen that involved three cars and injured more than half a dozen people.

Rebecca Sliter, 29, entered not guilty pleas to negligent vehicular assault and criminal endangerment, both felonies, during her arraignment Thursday morning in Flathead County District Court.

Prosecutors allege Sliter had a blood-alcohol level of .36 - four times the legal limit - when she tried to make a U-turn across two lanes of traffic about 10:20 a.m. on June 27.

Seven people, including Sliter, suffered minor to serious but non-life-threatening injuries in the crash, which shut down the highway for between 30 and 45 minutes.

All the occupants of the other two vehicles involved, three in one car and three in the other, were taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center. One man suffered multiple rib fractures while other victims were treated and released, according to court records.

The youngest passenger involved in the wreck was 15, and the drivers of all three cars were from either Kalispell or Columbia Falls, investigators said.

According to the Montana Highway Patrol, Sliter tried to make a U-turn from the right-hand shoulder of the northbound lanes of U.S. 2 near mile marker 127.

As she crossed the northbound lanes - perpendicular to the direction of traffic - her car was struck just in front of the driver's-side door by a Chevrolet Suburban, also traveling northbound.

The driver of the Suburban lost control and went into the center turn lane, where he collided head-on with a southbound Pontiac Grand Am whose driver had swerved in an effort to avoid the wreck.

A passing paramedic who stopped at the scene told investigators Sliter lacked focus and was unable to participate in normal conversation and one of the first responders to the crash, concerned about the thinness of her blood, questioned Sliter on her consumption of alcohol or use of medication, according to court records.

If convicted of both charges, Sliter - who has been released on her own recognizance - could face up to 20 years in prison and a $60,000 fine.

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