Opinion ID: 884671
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: pertinent factual and procedural background

Text: ¶ 15 In the early morning hours of October 13, 1995, Ingraham was driving north on Highway 93 near St. Ignatius, in Lake County, Montana. Roughly two miles north of town, Ingraham's vehicle crossed the center line and struck an oncoming Ford Ranger pickup truck, driven by Cynthia Harriman-Larson. Harriman-Larson died in the collision, and her passenger, Delbert Adams, suffered severe injuries. ¶ 16 On the evening of the accident, Ingraham left his office at roughly 5:00 p.m. He went home, ate a peanut butter sandwich, gathered some hunting gear and his two dogs, and drove to the home of his friend and former client, Ed Starkel. Ingraham arrived at Starkel's residence at 5:30 p.m. and remained for approximately two hours, during which time he drank one-half of a can of beer while helping his friend prepare for a pack trip. Ingraham left Starkel's at 7:30 p.m. and drove to the Rustic Hut in Florence, where he met his friend Jeff Lulow and consumed three or four beers, as well as some popcorn and beer nuts. Ingraham and Lulow left the Rustic Hut in separate cars at roughly 11:30 p.m. and drove to Mustang Sally's in Missoula, where Ingraham had two more beers. ¶ 17 Ingraham left Mustang Sally's between 1:00 and 1:30 a.m. and began the drive home to Ronan, with his two dogs still in the back seat. Ingraham ate some trail mix while he was driving, and sipped from a beer he found on the floor behind the passenger seat in his car. It was a clear evening, and the two-lane road upon which Ingraham was traveling was dry as he passed through the St. Ignatius area. According to Ingraham's testimony at trial, just moments before the accident he saw headlights from an oncoming vehicle approaching in his lane of traffic. Ingraham shouted, at which point his dogs jumped into the front seat and he pushed them aside. Ingraham testified that the oncoming vehicle remained in his lane and that he thus swerved to the left, in a failed attempt to avoid the head-on collision in which Harriman-Larson was killed and Adams seriously injured. ¶ 18 Adams, according to his testimony at trial, had spent portions of the day and evening preceding the accident drinking in St. Ignatius and Ronan. Although uncertain on the details, Adams indicated he had a few mid-morning beers at a friend's house, and then, to the best of his recollection, went home. Sometime later, he visited friends in Ronan and had a few more drinks. He remembered subsequently visiting two bars and having additional drinks, before attempting to hitch a ride home at roughly 2:00 a.m. on the morning of the accident. Shortly thereafter, Harriman-Larson stopped and offered Adams a ride. Thus, with Adams in the passenger seat, Harriman-Larson turned south on Highway 93, heading toward St. Ignatius. Tests revealed that Adams had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .278. ¶ 19 Little is known about Harriman-Larson's activities during the evening hours preceding the accident, save for the fact that she spent approximately two hours visiting with her friend, Kay Palmer. Palmer testified that Harriman-Larson came over to her house at approximately 9:00 that evening, and stayed until 11:00 p.m., during which time Harriman-Larson drank two bourbon and waters. Harriman-Larson's activities between the time she left Palmer's house and the time she offered Adams a ride shortly before the accident, remain unknown. Although Harriman-Larson's exact activities remain unknown, forensic scientist Lynn Kurtz performed an alcohol screen on a blood sample taken from Harriman-Larson, which indicated the presence of .07 grams of alcohol per 100 mills of whole blood. Kurtz testified that the blood sample may have been contaminated, however, and stated that testing of Harriman-Larson's vitreous sample revealed a higher BAC of .14. Moreover, forensic toxicologist Susan Rasmussen testified that Harriman-Larson's body fluids contained an extremely high level of THC, the chemical substance found in marijuana. Rasmussen explained that tests revealed .297 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood. ¶ 20 Adams testified that, shortly after Harriman-Larson began driving south on Highway 93, he saw a vehicle approaching in their lane. Adams remembered Harriman-Larson exclaiming, Hey what's he doing, and then slowing down before the impact. Because of his injuries, Adams remembers nothing of the events immediately following the collision. He testified that his next memory was of waking up in the hospital three weeks later. ¶ 21 At 2:30 a.m. that morning Ingraham called his father on the phone from a nearby house which he forcibly entered while its occupants were asleep. Ingraham testified that he told his father, also an attorney, that he had been in an accident and that there were emergency vehicles on the scene. Ingraham's activities immediately following the accident, including leaving the accident scene to make the call, and breaking into the house, gave rise to some of the charges which were ultimately lodged against him. In fact, the State alleged that Ingraham failed to render aid to Adams by leaving the accident scene. ¶ 22 Responding to a call from dispatch, Highway Patrol Officer Michael Roth arrived at the accident scene just after 3:00 a.m. and asked Ingraham what had happened. Officer Roth testified that Ingraham first told him he had crossed over the centerline into the southbound lane, but then explained that, no, we met in the middle of the road, in the middle of the centerline. ¶ 23 Officer Roth suggested that Ingraham go to the hospital and requested a blood sample. A blood test indicated that Ingraham's BAC was .07 at 4:12 a.m. While treating Ingraham for his injuries, hospital personnel subsequently drew a second blood sample, the testing of which indicated that Ingraham's BAC was .05 at 5:30 a.m. ¶ 24 Later that day, Officer Roth examined Ingraham's vehicle at an auto body shop in Ronan. Among the items he found in the car at that time were a bottle of lithium carbonate capsules and a prescription bottle of Buspar. Indeed, Ingraham's blood tested positive for the presence of therapeutic levels of lithium, as well as subtherapeutic levels of librium. Moreover, Ingraham's urine tested positive for the presence of nicotine, as well as ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine, two drugs typically found in nonprescription cold medicine. Ingraham's blood also contained traces of caffeine. ¶ 25 Sometime after 5:00 p.m. on the day following the accident, Jeanne Windham, a paralegal and friend of Ingraham's, picked Ingraham up at the hospital. After first stopping at his house to retrieve some clothing, she drove them to the scene of the accident at Ingraham's request. At trial, Windham offered testimony regarding her conversation with Ingraham at the scene of the accident. Windham recollected Ingraham telling her that his dogs began playing in the back seat and that, as he attempted to keep them from jumping into the front seat, his car swerved to the left just prior to colliding with Harriman-Larson's vehicle. ¶ 26 On October 30, 1995, the State filed an information charging Ingraham with the felony counts of negligent homicide, in violation of § 45-5-104(1), MCA, and criminal endangerment, in violation of § 45-5-207(1), MCA. The information additionally charged Ingraham with one count of criminal trespass to property, a misdemeanor, in violation of § 45-6-203(1)(a), MCA. Ingraham entered a plea of not guilty to each count at his November 1, 1995, arraignment. Following a change of venue, Ingraham was tried before a Flathead County jury in July 1996. The jury returned its verdict on July 19, 1996, finding Ingraham guilty on all three counts contained in the information. ¶ 27 On December 4, 1996, District Court Judge Katherine R. Curtis sentenced Ingraham to eight years in Montana State Prison, with two years suspended for the offense of negligent homicide. Ingraham received a consecutive sentence of eight years in Montana State Prison, with four suspended, for the offense of criminal endangerment. The court sentenced Ingraham to six months in the Lake County Jail, with all time suspended, for the misdemeanor offense of criminal trespass to property. Ingraham filed his notice of appeal on November 18, 1996, and the court entered its written judgment and commitment on December 4, 1996.