Burglary suspect crashes truck
<p><strong>A medical</strong> helicopter lifts off from the scene of a vehicle accident on U.S. 93 near Olney on Saturday night. The driver of a pickup truck went off the road, allegedly after burglarizing a family’s home. (Erin Braaten photo)</p>
A man is facing two counts of felony burglary and several misdemeanor citations after he allegedly was caught stealing from a home in Olney, took off and crashed a truck and trailer on U.S. 93 on Saturday night.
Terry Peter Wyman, 22, was airlifted to North Valley Hospital after the crash.
He was later released and booked into the Flathead County Detention Center. In addition to the burglary charges, he faces misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, not wearing a seat belt and having an open container in a motor vehicle.
According to court documents, Wyman was stopped by the owners of a home in the Olney area as he drove a truck out of their driveway. The owners were pulling up to the driveway.
The owners tried to stop Wyman and noticed that he was pulling the family’s boat trailer while other family property appeared to be stacked in the back of his truck.
Wyman allegedly sped off. The homeowners drove into Olney to call 911 and alert law enforcement, but encountered a crash scene instead: Wyman’s vehicle had rolled off the highway.
At the crash scene, the property owners found Wyman’s vehicle was loaded with their camping and fishing gear, guns and a hunting bow.
Wyman was interviewed at the hospital, where he allegedly admitted to a Flathead County sheriff’s deputy that he had taken whatever he could get his hands on in the cabin and crashed his truck when the owners followed him.
Olney Fire Department, Whitefish Fire Department, U.S. Forest Service law enforcement, Montana Highway Patrol, and the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office responded to the crash scene.
Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.