A man expected to face sentencing for a fatal drunk driving case in Flathead County District Court was found dead Friday morning.

Dal Jensen Segall, 42, was scheduled for sentencing Dec. 12 after he pleaded guilty to one felony count of vehicular homicide and three felony counts of negligent vehicular assault in September. All four charges relate to a Dec. 1, 2024 head-on collision that occurred when Segall tried to pass another vehicle in a no-passing zone on Montana 83 near the intersection with Echo Lake Road. 

The crash killed Wyatt Potts, 33, and seriously injured Potts’ fiancée, Teressa Brandt, and her 15-year-old daughter, Ashtyn. Family members said Teressa was put in a medically induced coma after suffering a major traumatic brain injury and a fractured neck and back. She remains bedridden and continues to receive treatment for her injuries. Ashtyn broke her femur in the wreck. 

A female passenger in Segall’s car also broke and dislocated her hip in the crash, according to court documents. 

Officers responding to the scene stated that Segall had watery, bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol. He later admitted to drinking prior to the wreck. 

MORE THAN a year after the fatal collision, friends and family of the victims filed into a Kalispell courtroom Friday for Segall’s sentencing. Thelma Brandt, Teressa’s mother, sat in the front row, clutching photos and x-rays showing her daughter’s extensive injuries. The images were part of the victim impact statement she had prepared but would never get to read out loud after Segall failed to appear in court. 

“This is her neck, where it fractured. This is what her head looks like now,” she said as she shuffled through the papers in her lap. “I was supposed to have a grandson, you know.”  

Teressa had told family members she was pregnant a week before the crash. The baby did not survive, and Thelma said her daughter’s medical care over the past year had topped $3 million. 

“She will spend the rest of her life trying to recover,” Thelma said. 

State prosecutors requested a welfare check around 9 a.m., when it became apparent Segall was missing from the proceedings. Segall was released from custody in December 2024 after posting a $500,000 bond. 

Officers used Segall's court-issued GPS monitoring device to track his location to Missoula County, where he was found dead from a suspected suicide. 

Thelma wiped tears from her eyes as she stood to leave the courtroom following the announcement of Segall’s death.  

“I think these are tears of relief,” she said. 

For Teressa's sister, Amanda Sharpe, relief was mixed with a sense of bitterness at losing her opportunity to speak directly to Segall. 

“I prepared a really good [victim impact] statement. I really wanted to talk to him about things and be an adult and tell him how this has affected my family,” she said. “It’s just a train of trauma that doesn’t stop.” 

Several people submitted written victim impact statements to the court prior to the hearing, which Judge Heidi Ulbricht said she had read and was prepared to take into consideration when she issued a sentence. 

Segall entered a plea deal in September that recommended he receive a net sentence of 60 years in the Montana State Prison with 20 years suspended. Segall also agreed to pay restitution for funeral expenses in the amount of $5,325. 

While the criminal case against Segall is now closed, Flathead County prosecutor Ashley Frechette said the victims and their families can still pursue civil actions and may qualify for compensation through the Montana Crime Victim Compensation Program. 

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at 758-4433 or [email protected].