Woman who injured 7 in drunken crash accused of continued alcohol abuse
A Kalispell woman who injured seven people in a drunken driving crash in Evergreen in 2009 will go before a judge this week to face allegations that she has continued to abuse alcohol.
Rebecca Sliter, 36, was convicted of negligent vehicular assault in 2009, after she drove with a blood-alcohol level of .36 — four times the legal limit — and caused a three-vehicle crash on U.S. 2 when she tried to make a U-turn across two lanes of traffic on June 27.
Seven people had injuries ranging from mild to serious, but none were life-threatening.
Sliter was sentenced to 10 years with five years suspended in 2009, and completed a drug treatment and pre-release program before she began her probationary sentence in 2011. The sentence was revoked for probation violations in 2012 and Sliter was then sentenced again to eight years with the Montana Department of Corrections, with four years suspended.
Sliter went through two alcohol treatment programs, one short-term and one-long term, before she entered a pre-release program and was eventually released again to probation in 2013.
Sliter’s probation officer alleges in a petition for revocation that intervention hearings were held in November 2013, February 2014, February 2015, and December 2015 to try to get Sliter to stop abusing alcohol.
Most recently Sliter was arrested on Oct. 13, 2016 with a .419 blood alcohol concentration, according to court documents. Probationers are prohibited from possessing or consuming alcohol.
“It is apparent to me that the defendant is either unable or unwilling to discontinue her use of alcohol and is not amenable to treatment services within the community,” probation officer Jeff Helpenstill wrote.
He recommends that Sliter be committed to the Department of Corrections for the remaining three years of her sentence and be placed in additional drug and alcohol treatment programs.
In an initial hearing, Sliter denied the allegations in the report for violation.
Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.