Missoulian: Driver who killed cyclist sentenced

The Missoula man who fatally crashed his car into a 50-year-old bicyclist before fleeing the scene last April was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in the Montana State Prison, the maximum punishment allowed by law.  Anthony Michael Dailey, 23, admitted last month to a felony count of vehicular homicide while under the influence for his role in the Toole Avenue collision that killed Stacie Ann DeWolf.

Dailey also pleaded guilty to a host of charges relating to a separate hit-and-run crash in Bonner that occurred less than 15 minutes before he struck the cyclist.

Breath tests after Dailey’s arrest registered his blood alcohol content at 0.185, more than twice the legal limit. Dailey’s guilty pleas were not the result of a plea bargain.

After eyewitnesses placed Dailey at the scene of both collisions, Missoula County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg filed additional charges of negligent endangerment, failure to yield on a through highway, failure to carry proof of insurance, drunken driving, failure to remain at the scene of an accident involving injuries, failure to remain at the scene of an accident involving a death and driving without a license.

For those offenses, District Judge Doug Harkin handed Dailey three years in the Missoula County jail, which will run concurrent to the three-decade state prison term.

In the Bonner incident, a married couple and their four children, whose ages range from 11 to 16, were parked at a railroad crossing on Montana Highway 200, idling at a flashing traffic light while waiting to proceed.

The light was still flashing when Dailey sped down Montana Secondary Highway 210 East, ran a stop sign and collided with the left front end of the family’s car, injuring the adult woman’s neck.

According to charging documents, Dailey continued driving onto a nearby sidewalk before crashing into a road sign and coming to a halt. He then climbed out of his car and confronted the family, who told police the man appeared intoxicated, smelled heavily of alcohol and fell down before getting back into his car and driving toward Missoula.

Immediately after reports of the Bonner accident, Missoula police responded to a crash at the intersection of Toole Avenue and Dickens Street, where they found DeWolf on the ground and not breathing.

One witness told police she was taking a walk in the area when a silver car swerved into DeWolf, launching the woman 15 feet into the air. The victim had been riding her bike in the designated lane near the sidewalk.

Other witnesses said the driver ran over a stop sign on the next block, at Waverly Street and Toole, backed up, squealed his tires and took off northbound on Waverly.

Eventually, Dailey parked his 2001 Chrysler three or four blocks from his residence on Cooper Street and police arrested him.

DeWolf suffered fatal injuries to her head and neck, and also suffered a broken leg and severe lacerations and abrasions on her legs.