A 29-year-old woman accused of driving drunk and causing a three-vehicle crash that injured seven people pleaded guilty Thursday to negligent vehicular assault.
Rebecca Sliter of Kalispell had a blood-alcohol level of 0.36 — more than four times the legal limit — on June 27 when she tried to make a U-turn across two lanes of U.S. Highway 2 near Kalispell. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped criminal endangerment charges and will recommend a 10-year sentence with the state Department of Corrections with five years suspended. The state will ask that Sliter spend some of that time in an alcohol treatment program and then at a prerelease center.
During brief testimony in Flathead County District Court on Thursday, Sliter acknowledged she was drunk during the crash and said she was lucky no one was killed.
Seven people, including Sliter, suffered minor to serious injuries in the crash. None of the injuries was life-threatening.