The motorist who struck and nearly killed a girl getting home from school near Whitefish in 2019 is heading back to the courtroom after allegedly violating the terms of her deferred sentence.  

Patricia Ann Berliner, 73, of Eureka, is serving a deferred six-year sentence for felony criminal endangerment after failing to stop for a school bus and striking Jordana Hubble as she crossed U.S. 93. The impact knocked the child an estimated 60 feet into a ditch and left her with a traumatic brain injury, according to court documents.  Berliner ultimately pleaded guilty to the felony by way of an Alford plea and received her sentence from Judge Dan Wilson in 2021. In an Alford plea, a defendant maintains their innocence but acknowledges a jury likely would find them guilty.  

Berliner allegedly said at the time of the collision that she didn't think she needed to stop because the school bus was in a different lane. 

Berliner began running afoul of the terms of her deferred sentence last summer, according to a violation report filed by Alice Rhodes, her probation and parole officer, in February. The 73-year-old stopped checking in with her supervising officer in July and admitted to traveling out of state without permission, according to the report.  

Earlier in the year, Berliner told Rhodes that she had several types of cancer. By August, she was sending text messages demanding probation and parole dismiss the felony conviction. In October, she texted that she blamed the felony case for causing her cancer, and said the conviction forced her to leave Montana for medical care. She also blamed the school bus driver and Hubble's father for the collision, which she described as "an accident, not a crime," according to the report.  

Rhodes recalled tracking Berliner down at her Eureka home that month, describing the 73-year-old as belligerent. During another home check in January, Rhodes said Berliner refused to answer the door.  

"It is clear she is suffering from mental health issues, which are deteriorating and at the current time she is not able to be supervised due to her actions," Rhodes wrote.  

Rhodes recommended Berliner see her deferred sentence revoked and receive a six-year suspended sentence to the state Department of Corrections in its place.  

County Attorney Travis Ahner filed a petition to revoke Berliner's deferred sentence in late February. Authorities booked her into the county jail on March 26, setting bail at $25,000. Berliner, who was released the following day after posting bond, is due back in court before Wilson on May 7 for a hearing on the revocation. 

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 406-758-4430 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.