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Officials name C-Falls teen killed by suspected drunk driver

by CHRIS PETERSON
Hungry Horse News | May 25, 2021 9:00 AM

A Columbia Falls girl who was struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver last Thursday night has been identified as 15-year-old Brooke Hanson.

According to the Montana Highway Patrol and court documents, Hanson was walking west along the edge of Tamarack Lane, just north of Columbia Falls, when she was hit by a westbound Chrysler Town and Country minivan at about 9:40 p.m. at the intersection of Tamarack and 12th Street West.

Authorities reported Hanson was struck on her left side and thrown into a ditch. She died of her injuries later that night at Logan Health in Kalispell.

The driver of the minivan, Jessica A. Farbstein, 37, of Whitefish, left the scene and was apprehended later that night in Whitefish.

While being arrested, Farbstein allegedly told Whitefish police Officer Chris Duke that she hit a mailbox, but then asked, "Did I hit a person?"

Duke then gave Farbstein a field sobriety test and she "exhibited slow, slurred speech and glossy eyes, and her breath emitted the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage," court records state.

Farbstein also consented to a blood test. She was booked into the Flathead County Detention Center and faces a felony charge of vehicular homicide while under the influence.

Her arraignment is scheduled June 17 in Flathead County District Court.

A service for Hanson is being planned.