A Kalispell man was booked into county jail Wednesday on felony charges connected with an Evergreen car crash that left four teenage girls hospitalized more than a month ago.  

Riley O'Brien, 36, faces felony counts of negligent vehicular assault and criminal endangerment along with a misdemeanor count of negligent vehicular assault in Flathead County District Court. According to court documents, O'Brien's blood alcohol content was 0.240 — three times the legal limit — at the time of the crash and he tested positive for illegal narcotics.  

The Flathead County Attorney's office filed the charges against O'Brien on Oct. 21. He remains in custody with bail set at $1 million.  

The wreck occurred shortly before midnight on Sept. 19, not far from the Evergreen Fire and Rescue building. Four teenage girls between the ages of 14 and 17 were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Two were flown to Salt Lake City, which is where 14-year-old Madalynn Strash remains hospitalized. 

A fifth teenager in the vehicle, a boy, came away from the wreck with minor injuries. 

In the weeks following the crash, the community has raised tens of thousands of dollars to offset medical costs and support the families of the injured girls. 

Newly filed court documents offer more details about the collision. O'Brien was driving a pickup truck in the center turn lane of U.S. 2 before swerving into oncoming traffic and striking the SUV carrying the teenagers about 11:51 p.m., court documents said. 

The teens were still in the SUV when emergency responders arrived, but O'Brien's truck was on its roof roughly 175 feet north, a Montana Highway Patrol trooper noted. O'Brien allegedly was outside of his truck and sitting in a parking lot.  

When the trooper asked him what happened, he allegedly responded, "I ... crossed lanes, I think. I'm not sure."  

The trooper saw Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans in the truck and noticed that O'Brien did not seem concerned about the teenagers in the vehicle he had just struck, according to court documents.  

O'Brien told the trooper he was heading to his home on Many Lakes Drive from a Kalispell bar, though the site of the crash was out of the way of the most direct route between those two locations, court documents said.  

Using surveillance footage obtained from Evergreen Fire and Rescue, investigators estimated that O'Brien was driving 58 mph in a 45-mph zone.  

An eyewitness driving west along U.S. 2 at the time of the collision told investigators that she saw O'Brien swerve into the center lane. She swerved into the outer lane to avoid the truck and watched as the SUV behind her unsuccessfully attempted to avoid the collision.  

The four teenage girls suffered injuries including skull fractures, shattered vertebrae and damage to internal organs. Strash, the teen still hospitalized in Salt Lake City, was in a coma for weeks and is now battling a rare brain infection, according to updates from the family posted to social media.  

A fundraiser spaghetti dinner will be held to support the girls Oct. 24 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Columbia Falls Kids Foundation. There will be a live auction, silent auction and raffle. More information and updates can be found on the "My Girls" Facebook page facebook.com/groups/1630070832078036/. 

Reporter Elsa Ericksen can be reached at 406-758-4459 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.