Martin City motorist accused of dragging man with pickup truck

A Martin City man faces a criminal endangerment charge for allegedly dragging a man down a Columbia Falls street with his pickup truck late last month.

Wayne Robert Armstrong, 35, is scheduled to appear before Judge Danni Coffman on April 13 for his arraignment on the felony charge in Flathead County District Court. He remains in the county jail with bail set at $50,000.

Prosecutors filed the charge after Columbia Falls Police officers responded to Nucleus Avenue about 9:11 p.m., March 31 for a report of a disturbance, court documents said. The victim said he heard what sounded like a motor vehicle collision while standing outside an area bar. Looking up, he spotted a Ford F-150 that had backed into a parked vehicle on the street.

Worried that the motorist planned on fleeing, the victim said he confronted the driver. At first the victim thought the pickup was going to pull over, but it then sped up and nearly hit him, according to court documents.

The victim recounted jumping out of the way and grabbing onto the Ford pickup’s steering wheel, court documents said. As he hung there, the motorist accelerated and reached speeds close to 40 mph.

“Let go or you’re going to die,” the driver allegedly told the victim.

According to court documents, the victim eventually safely jumped from the truck and took down its license plate information. Showing officers cuts to his hand, he said the wounds came from the driver trying to pry his fingers off the vehicle, court documents said.

The victim also told officers he had spotted the motorist, who appeared drunk to him, peeing in the street prior to getting into the pickup, according to court documents.

Officers ran the license plate information, which pointed them toward Armstrong. After trying him at his Martin City home, authorities found Armstrong at a bar in Marion, court documents said.

Although acknowledging a confrontation in Columbia Falls, he denied any wrongdoing, court documents said. Two witnesses corroborated the victim’s account, according to court documents.

Criminal endangerment is punishable by 10 years in Montana State Prison and a $50,000 fine.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.