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Drunk driver ordered to undergo treatment, serve suspended sentences after wreck

DERRICK PERKINS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 day, 17 hours AGO
by DERRICK PERKINS
NEWS EDITOR Derrick Perkins serves as News Editor at the Daily Inter Lake. He oversees daily news coverage and works closely with reporters to plan, edit and publish stories across print and digital platforms. Perkins helps coordinate coverage of local government, public safety, business and community developments throughout Northwest Montana. He works with the reporting staff to strengthen journalism while maintaining consistent daily coverage. His role helps ensure the newsroom delivers timely, accurate reporting that readers rely on. IMPACT: Derrick’s work keeps readers informed about the decisions and events shaping their communities every day. | May 29, 2026 12:00 AM

A man accused of driving drunk when he flipped his pickup truck on the U.S. 93 Bypass last year later received a string of suspended sentences.  

Andrew James Meyers, 54, admitted to Kalispell Police officers that he drank before getting behind the wheel of his Ford F-150 prior to the May 16, 2025 crash, according to court documents. First responders took his passengers — his wife and four children — to Logan Health Medical Center following the wreck, which occurred near the intersection of the highway and Basecamp Road.  

Prosecutors subsequently charged Meyers with felony counts of criminal child endangerment and driving under the influence, fourth or subsequent offense, in Flathead County District Court. They also sought the revocation of his deferred sentence for a 2024 conviction connected to a felony assault with a weapon case. 

Meyers maintained his innocence at his June 5, 2025 arraignment before Judge Danni Coffman.  

But Meyers accepted a plea deal offer from prosecutors by the following month. In exchange for pleading guilty to the child endangerment and drunk driving charges, prosecutors agreed to recommend he receive a suspended two-year sentence with the state Department of Corrections for the former and undergo a substance abuse program before serving a suspended one-year sentence for the latter. Meyers also admitted violating the terms of his deferred sentence as part of the arrangement. 

Coffman stuck to the terms of the deal at Meyers' Oct. 16 sentencing. She ordered the sentences to run consecutively and gave Meyers credit for 154 days of time served.  

Having revoked Meyers' deferred sentence in July, Coffman sentenced him to the state Department of Corrections for five years in that case and gave him credit for a total of 159 days of time served and five months of street time. 

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.

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