“I knew there was just no way,” Bohenek said. “I knew they were going to crash.”
Bohenek was one of the prosecution's first witnesses Monday in the Missoula County District Court trial of Patrick Eugene Sayers, a Hamilton man charged with felony vehicular homicide while under the influence for allegedly killing Michael Mickelson in a collision at the intersection of Miller Creek Road and U.S. Highway 93 in February.
Mickelson, 26, was turning his 2000 Acura Integra onto Miller Creek Road at about 1 p.m. on Feb. 15, court records say, when Sayers' 1991 Chevrolet pickup struck the passenger side of the Acura at more than 50 mph, pushing the car across the highway and off the road.
Sayers was traveling to Missoula from Lolo on Highway 93.
Family members of Mickelson wept in the courtroom as witness Tony Sauro described Mickelson's condition after the collision.
“When I got to him, he was bleeding from his eyes, ears and nose,” Sauro said. “I kept checking for a pulse, but there was no pulse.”
According to court records, a tow truck driver responding to the scene discovered a glass pipe containing marijuana residue behind the rear passenger-side tire of Sayers' truck.
When questioned by police, both Sayers and his passenger, Terry Nunnery, admitted to smoking marijuana twice that day, once that morning and again in the truck before the collision.
Defense attorney Brian Smith admitted the collision was tragic, but said Sayers had simply made a mistake.
“Someone died in this accident. It is tragic, but it is an accident,” Smith told jurors during opening statements.
If Sayers is convicted, he could face 30 years in the Montana State Prison.
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