WALLACE - A 23-year-old Silver Valley man on Thursday was convicted by a jury of vehicular manslaughter.

Chad Ward is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 14 by District Court Judge Fred Gibler, but is currently out on bond. He faces up to 15 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

The case involved a one-car accident on July 9, 2011, when Ward allegedly failed to negotiate a curve on the Coeur d'Alene River Road while driving under the influence, causing his Mitsubishi Lancer to flip.

The accident resulted in the death of 19-year-old Wallace High School graduate Anthony Legard.

The trial began Tuesday with jury selection, and Shoshone County Prosecutor Keisha Oxendine rested the state's case against Ward on Wednesday.

Defense attorney Frederick Loats called one witness to the stand, William Oleson, the boyfriend of Ward's mother.

Oleson was with Ward at Kootenai Medical Center after the crash, and Loats questioned him about the blood sample taken from Ward at the hospital. Oleson testified a nurse attempted to take blood from Ward "10 to 15 times," and he also said the nurse left the room three times during the process.

Under cross examination, Oleson said the nurse was successful in obtaining the sample while an Idaho State Police officer was present.

During closing arguments, Oxendine said all of the evidence points to Ward being intoxicated when he crashed the vehicle.

"The facts and evidence you've seen in this case tell a story," Oxendine told the jury. "A story that occurred on June 9, 2011 ... a story of a young man who lost his life."

Loats, in his closing, said, "What you've heard is one contradicting testimony after another."

He added, "Let's examine the blood test results: One has to prove that the accused had blood-alcohol content at the time of the accident. Not two, three hours after ... There is no evidence whatsoever to prove (what) his blood-alcohol content (level) was during the accident."

Loats pointed to inconsistencies in witness testimonies. He argued that there were significant aspects of the state's evidence that contradict each other.

Oxendine closed the trial saying, "The fact of the matter is a blood sample was taken ... That sample was tested and above (the legal limit)," Oxendine said.

She addressed the inconsistencies within testimonies.

"The defendant's admission to drinking: That's consistent among the witnesses. The admission to driving: That's consistent with the witnesses."

The jury then deliberated for approximately one hour before reaching its verdict.

Oxendine said the prosecution was very happy with the result and with getting Legard's family justice.

"I'm very pleased with the outcome," Oxendine said. "It's certainly an outcome of justice for Anthony."