Felony charges filed after crash
by Kootenai Valley Record
February 26, 2011
A 19-year-old Libby man is facing felony charges after a crash Thursday evening on the Fisher River Road sent a passenger in his vehicle to a Spokane hospital for treatment.
Cecil D. McLinden is charged with negligent vehicular assault, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison along with a fine of up to $10,000, along with misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, being a minor in possession of alcohol and failure to wear a seatbelt.
The accident was reported via cell phone shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday, while McLinden and the two passengers in his vehicle were being transported to St. John’s Lutheran Hospital in Libby by another vehicle that had been traveling behind them on the Fisher River Road. One of the passengers, 18-year-old Trevor Larson, was subsequently transferred to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, according to Montana Highway Patrol office Bryce Ford. The other passenger, a 17-year-old girl, was treated for injuries at St. John’s, Ford said.
According to Ford, McLinden lost control of his vehicle on the Fisher River Road near mile marker 15 and went off the road and over a steep embankment.
In an affidavit filed in justice court in support of the charges against McLinden, Ford reported that McLinden appeared to have been under the influence of alcohol and that a breath test indicated a blood alcohol level above the .08 percent legal limit.
McLinden made an initial appearance Friday before Justice of the Peace Jay Sheffield, and bond was set at $10,000.
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Editor's Note: See the February 22, 2011 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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