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Jeremy Carpenter Pleads Guilty to Vehicular Homicide in Fatal July Crash

On January 29, Jeremy Carpenter, 23, entered a guilty plea to a felony charge of vehicular homicide as part of a plea agreement. The charges stem from a tragic crash that occurred on July 11, 2024, when Carpenter drove the wrong way on Interstate 15, colliding head-on with another vehicle near mile marker 261.

According to the Montana Highway Patrol and court documents, Carpenter was traveling south in the northbound lanes when he crashed into a northbound pickup truck. The 58-year-old driver of the other vehicle, identified as Daniel Wells, was extricated from his truck and pronounced dead at the scene.

At the time of the crash, Carpenter was found standing in the median a few feet from the wreckage. Though he claimed to have been a passenger, a series of investigations contradicted his statements. Initially, Carpenter told the responding Montana Highway Patrol trooper that he had been sleeping in the passenger seat and that his friend had been driving before fleeing the scene. However, further investigation revealed Carpenter had been the one behind the wheel. Carpenter later admitted to investigators that he had been the one operating the vehicle, having been drinking throughout the day.

During a subsequent search of Carpenter's person and vehicle, law enforcement discovered two knives and an unmarked pill bottle containing a white powder that tested positive for cocaine. Additionally, several open containers of alcohol were found in Carpenter's truck, and video footage from a bar showed him drinking earlier in the evening. He was seen on surveillance footage leaving the Driftwood Bar in Cascade around 11:45 p.m. on July 10, shortly before the crash occurred.

A blood test conducted following the crash revealed Carpenter's blood alcohol content (BAC) to be more than twice the legal limit, and the presence of cocaine in his system.

During his change-of-plea hearing, Carpenter admitted that his impaired driving caused Wells' death. When questioned by his attorney, Jason Holden, Carpenter confirmed that his actions behind the wheel were responsible for the fatal crash.

Judge John Parker accepted the guilty plea and set a sentencing hearing, after allowing 30 days for the completion of a pre-sentence investigation. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Carpenter is expected to receive a sentence of 20 years in prison, with 10 years suspended.

Currently incarcerated at the Cascade County Adult Detention Center, Carpenter had his sentence previously revoked following an earlier conviction in December. He has been in custody since then, awaiting the outcome of the vehicular homicide case.

Carpenter's sentencing will take place in the coming months, once the pre-sentence investigation is complete.

 

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