Man sent to prison for crashing into home, killing Kalispell man

An Arizona man who was drunk when he drove into a Kalispell home and killed a man will spend time in state prison.

Thomas Owen Lefevre, 20, was sentenced in Flathead District Court on Thursday to 20 years to the Montana State Prison, with 16 years suspended.

Lefevre had pleaded guilty to an amended charge of negligent homicide in November. He was initially charged with vehicular homicide while under the influence after the June 20, 2020 incident. He faced a maximum term of 30 years in prison on the original charge.

Flathead County Deputy Attorney Amy Kenison had recommended the 20-year sentence as part of the plea deal.

The man who died, Robert Dale Meier, 59, of Kalispell, was asleep in a bedroom at his Rocky Cliff Drive residence when an eastbound 2011 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Lefevre failed to negotiate a curve and drove off the roadway, striking the house and entering the bedroom, according to the Montana Highway Patrol.

Meier was found under a pile of debris and later died at the hospital.

When troopers arrived on the scene, LeFevre was sitting in the living room next to the truck and rubble, and was talking on his cellphone to his parents.

ON DEC. 30, 2021, Lefevre filed a pre-sentence memorandum that described himself as a 20-year-old honors college student who volunteered and lived on Flathead Lake during the summers. In the document, Lefevre says he became depressed during the Covid-19 pandemic due to isolation, and that he would regularly drink five to 10 shots of liquor five times a week.

He said he consumed excessive amounts of alcohol on the night of the crash, then fell asleep at the wheel and drove into the home.

Kenison stated in the memorandum that while Lefevre “may be a smart, articulate young man” the result of his actions “was serious and requires an imposition of a prison sentence.”

“[Lefevre], a 20-year old honor roll student with a bright future, chose to drink alcohol, drive intoxicated, crash through a home, and kill a sleeping person. [He] chose the direction of his future, and he must live with the consequences of those choices.”

A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Meier’s family against Lefevre was settled Aug. 20, 2021.