Homicide charge filed in fatal head-on crash

Jolee Lyn Landgraf of Havre, 29, was arrested Friday on a charge of deliberate homicide stemming from a head-on crash Jan. 28 that killed Loretta Park of Havre, 73.

Investigating officers said she told them she deliberately swerved into oncoming traffic.

Landgraf was being held in the Hill County Detention Center on $500,000 bond this morning.

Court documents said Montana Highway Patrol was notified of the crash at about 12:22 p.m..

The trooper investigating found that it appeared the silver Dodge Dakota driven by Landgraf was westbound toward Chinook heading up Pork Chop Hill while a black Honda Accord driven by Park was eastbound.

The trooper arrived at 12:29 p.m. and observed the Accord with extensive front-end damage sitting on the westbound shoulder. Park was in the vehicle, dead on the scene. The vehicle had been pushed back 38 feet.

The Dakota, east of the Accord lying on its side, had sustained severe damage to the left front side and the windshield was missing. It had rolled multiple times and came to rest 141 feet from the initial impact.

A shoe, later determined to belong to Landgraf, was wedged in place over the gas pedal, the document said.

Landgraf, was ejected from the Dakota and was lying in the westbound lane, the document said.

A witness said Landgraf had pulled the Dakota into the oncoming traffic lane to pass a semi and had crashed into the Accord, the document said.

Another witness said she had called Landgraf’s common-law husband and he said she had probably tried to kill herself.

Officers later interviewed the common-law husband and he said he and Landgraf had been arguing the night before and it extended into Jan. 18 and she ended storming out of their home, the document said.

A trooper intertviewed Landgraf and she told him twice she had purposely swerved into oncoming traffic, the document said.

The document said toxicology reports showed Landgraf had drugs in her system, including amphetamine, methamphetamine, lidocaine and THC.