Box Elder man sentenced in fatal crash

Dawson Ray Demontiney of Box Elder will spend more than three years in federal prison for the death a passenger in a car crash. The crash occurred after the car he was driving cut a horse in half during a high-speed chase on Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation on Christmas Eve 2010.

U. S. District Judge Sam Haddon sentenced Demontiney, 25, in federal court in Great Falls Monday to 41 months in prison followed by three years of probation, the U. S. Attorney for Montana said in a press release.

Demontiney previously pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

According to the release, Rocky Boy Police officers on patrol saw a four-door Oldsmobile driving eastbound at 70 mph in a 45 mph zone on Upper Box Elder Road at 1:53 a. m. The car's headlights were not on, moving with only hazard lights on.

After notifying Rocky Boy dispatch, the officers turned to follow the car, but could no longer see it. They realized the driver must have turned the hazard lights off, the release said, and notified dispatch.

Officers who went outside the police station saw a vehicle with no lights on pass the station at a high rate of speed, and almost immediately heard a crash and saw the taillights of the car go up into the air before the car hit the ground.

The officers found half a horse at the scene of the crash, and the car in a ditch.

A passenger, who was lying half out of the car when the officers approached, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Demontiney was not in the vehicle, but then approached the officers, stumbling down the fence line, the release said, asking the officers for help.

Demontiney's blood alcohol concentration was. 058 percent and he tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, the release said.

The area where the crash occurred has a posted 25 mph speed limit and has free-range animals.