Man charged with causing crash that paralyzed woman

A man is facing felony charges after a suspected drunk-driving incident on Nov. 16 left a woman severely injured.

Joshua Kalib Myers, age and address unlisted, is charged with felony negligent vehicular assault. Myers allegedly cursed at a Montana Highway Patrol trooper after witnesses said he was driving in the wrong lane of traffic and caused a three-vehicle crash on U.S. 2.

Myers was slurring his speech and performed poorly on two field sobriety tests, Flathead District Court documents allege.

When asked for a blood sample, Myers allegedly replied with his thoughts about the terrorist group ISIS and other threats to America.

When the trooper put Myers in the patrol car, an in-car video recorded Myers saying that he had consumed a lot of alcohol and that he was “surprised this has not happened before since he is a raging alcoholic.”

A week after the crash the trooper spoke with the crash victim, who said that her back was broken from the crash impact and that she was now partially paralyzed.

Myers faces up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.