Those details and others emerged Friday in court papers charging 39-year-old Lonnie Ray Hylton with two counts of vehicular homicide while under the influence and two counts of criminal endangerment, all felonies.
The papers, filed in Missoula County Justice Court, relate to an Aug. 4 interstate collision near Airway Boulevard. Hylton was allegedly intoxicated when he entered the westbound interstate exit at the Wye intersection and proceeded to drive east in the westbound lane for four miles before colliding with the oncoming car at mile marker 99.
Hylton, of Great Falls, made his initial court appearance one day after being released from a Missoula hospital, where he was treated for serious injuries of his own. Appearing over a live telecast from jail, Hylton sat in a wheelchair wearing a back brace.
Deputy Missoula County Attorney Jennifer Clark asked Justice of the Peace John Odlin to set bail at $500,000, noting the serious nature of the allegations.
“This was a crash where the driver was on the wrong side of the highway, drove two vehicles off the road that were carrying two families and then collided head-on with a car, killing two people,” Clark said.
A public defender who appeared alongside Hylton asked Odlin to release the man on his own recognizance. The lawyer said Hylton ruptured his spleen and bladder in the wreck, broke his back and ruptured four vertebrae. He also touted Hylton's military history and lack of a criminal record. The lawyer also emphasized that the charges are only allegations, and said Hylton is maintaining his innocence.
But Odlin ultimately sided with the state, setting bail at a half-million dollars.
“This is more than serious,” Odlin said. “You went the wrong way on the interstate. That's an allegation, but two people are dead. You pose a significant community safety problem.”
Hylton is charged with felony criminal endangerment because of the two vehicles he allegedly ran off of the interstate.
Travis Dennison told authorities he was driving his car west on I-90 with his wife and three daughters at around 9:30 p.m. when he saw a maroon Dodge Dakota pickup truck approaching. Dennison pulled over to avoid a collision.
Lisa Martinez was driving with her mother just west of Butler Creek Bridge when she saw the Dodge approaching. She was forced to swerve left into the median to avoid a head-on crash. Martinez said Hylton stopped, got out of his truck, briefly inspected the undercarriage and then drove off again.
Hylton told troopers that he had been drinking beer before the crash and should not have been driving because he was intoxicated, records state.
If convicted of the charges, Hylton faces a maximum punishment of 80 years in the Montana State Prison.
Reporter Tristan Scott can be reached at 523-5264 or at tscott@missoulian.com.
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