GREAT FALLS — Jeremey Andrew Carpenter, who pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide for the death of Daniel Orson Wells, was sentenced in Great Falls on Friday, March 28, 2025.
Carpenter was charged after driving southbound in the northbound lanes of I-15 between Ulm and Cascade on July 11th, 2024, crashing into 58-year-old Wells, who died at the scene.
Court documents alleged that Carpenter’s blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit, and cocaine was also present in his blood.
In January, Carpenter pleaded guilty to a felony charge of vehicular homicide as part of a plea agreement.
Carpenter’s plea agreement had recommended 20 years in prison, and another 10 years suspended.
His attorney, Jason Trinity Holden, told MTN News at the time, “Mr. Carpenter has accepted responsibility and will comply with any sentence the court decides."
During sentencing, Carpenter said, "I hope one day his family will forgive me for my actions, because for the rest of my life I will never forgive myself.
Carpenter was sentenced on Friday to 20 years in the Montana State Prison, with 10 of the years suspended; he also received credit for 180 days of time already served.
Carpenter may be eligible for parole in three years.
(AUGUST 6, 2024) Jeremey Andrew Carpenter is facing a charge of felony vehicular homicide in Great Falls. Carpenter was arrested on Friday, August 2, 2024.
Carpenter is charged with driving a pickup truck southbound in the northbound lanes of Interstate 15 between Ulm and Cascade on July 11, 2024, and crashing into a northbound GMC Sierra, killing the other driver.
Cascade County Sheriff/Coroner Jesse Slaughter identified 58-year old Daniel Orson Wells as the the man who died in the crash.
September 25, 1965 - July 11, 2024
According to the charging documents, Carpenter told the MHP trooper at the scene that he had not been driving the pickup truck, saying that he had been sleeping in the passenger seat at the time of the crash.
Carpenter identified another person as the driver of the pickup truck, and said the other person had run away from the crash scene.
The MHP trooper noted that Carpenter smelled of alcohol, and his eyes were red and watery.
He conducted a search of Carpenter and found several dime-sized plastic baggies with a white powder inside that later tested positive for cocaine.
The trooper also noted several open containers of alcohol in the pickup truck, and Carpenter reportedly told the trooper that he had been drinking at a bar in Ulm and a bar in Cascade.
A Cascade County Sheriff's deputy went to the home of the person that Carpenter had identified as the driver of the pickup truck. The person was sober and had no injuries, and told the deputy that he had not been with Carpenter. The person showed the deputy text messages between himself and Carpenter from earlier in which he apologized for staying home and falling asleep earlier in the evening.
Carpenter was taken to a Great Falls hospital via ambulance where he was admitted for his injuries.
A blood sample taken when Carpenter was admitted to the hospital yielded a blood alcohol level of 0.171, which more than twice the legal limit for operating a vehicle. In addition, cocaine was also present in his blood.
On July 15, investigators talked with Carpenter, who reportedly admitted that he had been alone in the pickup truck at the time of the crash, and that he had been drinking alcohol throughout the day prior to the crash.
Bail for Carpenter was set at $500,000.
