COEUR d'ALENE - Ada County prosecutors have decided not to file charges against a state trooper for the February shooting death of a 40-year-old Butte, Mont., woman.

Christie A. Little, a passenger in a Jeep Cherokee involved in a police pursuit, was shot in the head through a side window of the fleeing vehicle by Idaho State Police Trooper Dan Howard.

Howard fired his weapon after a collision between his patrol car and the Jeep. Howard got out of his vehicle after the crash and thought the driver, Little's husband Mark M. Maykopet, was trying to back into him with the Jeep. Maykopet told investigators he was backing away from the accident to wheel around and continue his effort to flee.

Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Shawna Dunn said Howard fired 14 shots, six of which struck the Jeep. Maykopet, who was wanted by police and had escaped custody, suffered a head injury when a bullet grazed the top of his head.

"Our office has concluded that based on the totality of the evidence in this matter, shooting at the vehicle was a justifiable use of deadly force," Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower's office said in a statement released Thursday.

The fact that one of the shots killed Little "is regrettable and a tragedy for her family," according to the statement.

The Kootenai County Sheriff's Department investigated the incident.

Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh said, "Having an independent prosecutor review Trooper Howard's actions is an important part of maintaining public confidence when such a shooting takes place."

McHugh said a charging decision relating to Maykopet, 25, also of Butte, will be made within the next two weeks.

Felony charges of battery and eluding a police officer filed against Maykopet after the incident were dismissed in March. He currently is in custody in Montana, McHugh said.

Dunn said prosecutors began reviewing Howard's actions on May 19 and made a decision several days ago.

Prosecutors interviewed those involved in the incident, and reviewed reports and other materials prepared and collected by the sheriff's department.

During the evening hours of Feb. 7, Maykopet was pulled over for speeding by Howard on U.S. 95 at Ohio Match Road.

Howard quickly learned Maykopet was wanted by authorities and was a prison escapee. After another deputy arrived at the scene, they ordered him to surrender, and Maykopet bolted.

The chase - which reached speeds of nearly 100 mph - ended on Ramsey Road, south of Highway 53, and just north of Boekel Road.

Dunn said Howard's in-car camera was not functioning that day.

While Howard followed Maykopet, the other trooper took a different route in an attempt to cut the Jeep off.

Just after passing over some railroad tracks on Ramsey, Howard realized Maykopet had turned around and was now driving toward him, the prosecutors said.

Howard, traveling southbound on Ramsey, went into the northbound lane.

After considering an effort to block the road, he turned back into his own lane.

Unlike his camera, Howard's "vehicle data collection system" was working. It indicated he was traveling toward the right shoulder and was slowing down at the time the two vehicles collided, causing front-end damage to both.

Dunn said Howard was going very slowly, and Maykopet estimated his speed at impact at 35 mph.

Howard, blasted by his airbag, climbed out of his vehicle. Maykopet threw his Jeep into reverse to wheel around and flee in the other direction.

Dunn said Howard, standing in the street, concluded Maykopet was trying to reverse at him to run him over. Maykopet told investigators he didn't see Howard in the roadway and wasn't trying to run him over.

Dunn said it was nine-and-a-half seconds from the time of the collision until the last shot was fired.

She wasn't sure if Howard began firing while the Jeep was reversing or beginning its forward movement to get away.

The first of the shots entered a passenger side window from a perspective consistent with Howard being positioned to the back and side of the vehicle, she said. One of the first two shots hit Little.

The last shots went into the rear window of the vehicle. One shot hit Maykopet's headrest.

All the shots were fired within three seconds and stopped once Howard believed the threat was gone, prosecutors said.

After turning around and driving south, Maykopet realized his wife had been hit and he pulled over. He was then arrested on a Montana warrant.

Medical information shows Little was still breathing when medical personnel arrived at the scene, but she quickly succumbed to her injury, the prosecutors said.