BOZEMAN — Christopher Ray Daniel Menser of Bozeman is accused of causing the death of his passenger in a vehicle crash while driving under the influence on Saturday, December 7, 2024.
Menser, 35 years old, is facing several criminal charges, including vehicular homicide while under the influence.
According to the Montana Highway Patrol crash report, the crash happened around 8:11 a.m. on Saturday near the intersection of Baxter Lane and Monforton School Road.
Charging documents say Menser was driving west on Baxter Lane when he went off the road to the left at a speed of 60 to 65 miles per hour.
The vehicle struck a fence and other objects before a horizontal fence post crashed through the windshield and hit his passenger in the head.
The MHP report said the passenger, a 43-year-old Bozeman man whose name has not yet been released, was taken to the hospital where he later died from his injuries.
Charging documents say Menser lived in a camper off Wheat Drive with the man, who Menser said had shot up heroin or methamphetamine on Saturday morning.
According to charging documents, Menser told the responding MHP trooper that a deer came into the road and he swerved to avoid it.
The trooper reported Menser as having “jerky” movements and had "pinpoint" pupils and said Menser would not make eye contact.
Menser allegedly admitted to the trooper that he had eaten mushrooms the night before after smoking marijuana earlier in the day on Friday, December 6.
The trooper said Menser admitted to smoking marijuana with a group of people around 5 a.m. on Saturday at the Motel 6 on Wheat Drive. Menser reportedly told the trooper the man who supplied the marijuana liked to lace it with meth.
The trooper said Menser was talkative at the scene, but once he was taken to the hospital, he would fall asleep in the middle of a conversation.
Menser allegedly said “I’m definitely coming down off something” after leaving the hospital.
According to charging documents, Menser said he was heading to work the morning of the crash and has been employed for two or three weeks. The trooper said in his report that Menser has no known ties to the community.
Menser appeared in Gallatin County Justice Court on Monday; his bail was set at $100,000. His next court date is scheduled for December 27, 2024.
(1st REPORT, DECEMBER 8) One person died and another was injured in a one-vehicle crash in Gallatin County on Saturday, December 7, 2024.
It happened just after 8 a.m. near the intersection of Baxter Lane and Monforton School Road.
According to the Montana Highway Patrol, a 35-year old male driver and a 43-year old male passenger in a Jeep Grand Cherokee were westbound on Baxter Lane.
The Jeep went off the south side of the road and through a ditch, and then went through a fence, crashing into a corner post.
The post went through the windshield, hitting the passenger in the head.
The Jeep kept going until it crashed into a tree.
Both occupants were taken to Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, where the passenger died due to his injuries. His name has not been released.
According to the MHP, passenger was wearing a seatbelt; the driver was not.
The MHP report states that drugs and speed may have been factors in the crash.
