Bigfork man admits causing crash

By JESSE DAVIS

The Daily Inter Lake

A Bigfork man admitted Friday that he was responsible for a crash that resulted in a woman having one of her legs amputated.

Brent Passwater, 47, made the admission when he pleaded guilty Friday in Flathead District Court to a felony charge of negligent vehicular assault. In exchange for the plea, a second count of the same crime was dismissed.

Passwater was driving his truck on July 11, 2012, when he struck a motorcycle while making a left turn from Montana 83 onto Echo Lake Road. While speaking to a Montana Highway Patrol trooper at the scene, he admitted drinking at Scotty’s Bar an hour earlier, but refused any alcohol testing.

Analysis of a blood sample taken the night of the crash showed Passwater’s blood-alcohol level had been twice the legal limit.

A trooper later spoke with the two passengers of the motorcycle at the hospital, at which point he discovered the driver had suffered a broken left foot and the passenger had to have her left leg amputated.

Passwater now faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 when he is sentenced on Jan. 2, 2014. He is currently released under the requirement that he wear a remote alcohol-monitoring bracelet.