Saturday, May 24, 2025
73.0°F

Woman pleads guilty to running over pedestrian

Richard Hanners Hungry Horse News | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 2 months AGO
by Richard Hanners Hungry Horse News
| March 2, 2015 1:23 PM
Samantha Stover survived being hit by a Budget moving truck last year on South Hilltop Road in Columbia Falls. She has a helpful service dog name Chakra.

]]>

A 45-year-old Kalispell woman has pleaded guilty to felony negligent vehicular assault for running over a woman with a rental truck last year.

Susan Pajnich initially was charged with negligent vehicular assault and criminal endangerment and faced up to 10 years in prison for each charge. The second count was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Pajnich pleaded guilty by way of an Alford plea, meaning she maintains her innocence but acknowledges the overwhelming evidence against her.

According to court documents, two local residents were standing on South Hilltop Road in Columbia Falls on June 23 about 11:15 p.m. looking at an injured cat laying in the roadway when a northbound Budget truck hit one of the residents and kept going.

Samantha Stover described to the Hungry Horse News the serious injuries she suffered when the truck hit her head — five fractures to her right eye socket, a broken nose and jaw, fractured teeth, damage to her right tibia, and paralyzing nerve damage above her right eye. A compound fracture to her left forearm required three metal plates, she said.

Stover spent two days in the hospital and hasn’t been able to work since the accident. That could be an indefinite situation — her neurologist told Stover she may suffer from permanent mild traumatic brain injury.

A Montana Highway Patrol trooper tracked down the rental truck at a residence on Jellison Road and spoke to Pajnich. The trooper allegedly found two scuff marks on the truck’s front left bumper and a large red spot on the front suspension that appeared to be blood.

The trooper also reported that Pajnich’s breath smelled like alcohol and she appeared unsteady on her feet. She was transported to North Valley Hospital for a blood test that allegedly revealed a blood alcohol content of 0.28 percent.

Pajnich later told the trooper she recalled feeling a large bump while driving down South Hilltop Road. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 7.

]]>

A 45-year-old Kalispell woman has pleaded guilty to felony negligent vehicular assault for running over a woman with a rental truck last year.

Susan Pajnich initially was charged with negligent vehicular assault and criminal endangerment and faced up to 10 years in prison for each charge. The second count was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Pajnich pleaded guilty by way of an Alford plea, meaning she maintains her innocence but acknowledges the overwhelming evidence against her.

According to court documents, two local residents were standing on South Hilltop Road in Columbia Falls on June 23 about 11:15 p.m. looking at an injured cat laying in the roadway when a northbound Budget truck hit one of the residents and kept going.

Samantha Stover described to the Hungry Horse News the serious injuries she suffered when the truck hit her head — five fractures to her right eye socket, a broken nose and jaw, fractured teeth, damage to her right tibia, and paralyzing nerve damage above her right eye. A compound fracture to her left forearm required three metal plates, she said.

Stover spent two days in the hospital and hasn’t been able to work since the accident. That could be an indefinite situation — her neurologist told Stover she may suffer from permanent mild traumatic brain injury.

A Montana Highway Patrol trooper tracked down the rental truck at a residence on Jellison Road and spoke to Pajnich. The trooper allegedly found two scuff marks on the truck’s front left bumper and a large red spot on the front suspension that appeared to be blood.

The trooper also reported that Pajnich’s breath smelled like alcohol and she appeared unsteady on her feet. She was transported to North Valley Hospital for a blood test that allegedly revealed a blood alcohol content of 0.28 percent.

Pajnich later told the trooper she recalled feeling a large bump while driving down South Hilltop Road. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 7.

MORE IMPORTED STORIES

Woman pleads guilty to running over pedestrian
Hungry Horse News | Updated 10 years, 2 months ago
Woman gets 10 years for running over pedestrian
Hungry Horse News | Updated 10 years ago
Woman gets 10 years for running over pedestrian
Bigfork Eagle | Updated 10 years ago

ARTICLES BY RICHARD HANNERS HUNGRY HORSE NEWS

November 11, 2011 7:12 a.m.

Local woman wrestles with meth habit

Two-year suspended sentence revoked

October 12, 2011 7:31 a.m.

Tourism is No. 5 polluter

Ski areas without snow, beaches eroding as polar ice melts and oceans rise, forest fires running rampant across mountain ranges, wetlands turning into deserts while deserts get flooded - these are some of the gloomier forecasts tourists will face in the 21st century, according to some climate-change models.

August 19, 2011 3:12 p.m.

Former CFAC owner donates to college

Recent news that the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. smelter plant has a shot at lining up a power contract with the Bonneville Power Administration coincided with this summer's news about one of the company's former owners.