A Seeley Lake man was sentenced to five years in the Montana State Prison on Nov. 3 after he pleaded guilty to killing a Potomac woman while high on methamphetamine in a car crash last December.
Kerry Glen Drew, 69, pleaded guilty to four felonies and one misdemeanor earlier this year as a part of a plea deal. He was driving westbound on Highway 200 on the night of Dec. 21 when he hit a group of cars parked on the side of the road near mile marker 18.
The group of cars were attempting to pull a car out of a snowbank. Drew, who was intoxicated with meth, hit Victoria Richardson, 61. She died on impact and was sent more than 100 feet into the air, according to the Montana Highway Patrol crash report.
Drew’s car, which was revealed not to be his during the sentencing, caused serious injury to two people and hurt a third.
After Drew was arrested, officers at the Missoula County Jail found meth on his person. Missoula District Court Judge Dusty Deschamps presided over the case. He found Drew guilty of vehicular homicide while under the influence, felony negligent vehicular assault, criminal endangerment, criminal possession of dangerous drugs and one misdemeanor charge of negligent vehicular assault.
One charge of tampering with evidence was dropped as a part of the deal. While Deschamps gave five years to Drew, he also imposed 25 years of a suspended sentence, or probation, with several special conditions.
One controversy of the case was that the cars were parked on the opposite side of the road, which Deschamps said is illegal under Montana law. Prosecutors noted that Drew drove straight into the headlights of the cars, and the weather conditions were clear that night.
With the loss of life, and the injury to others, Deschamps said there must be some jail time imposed on Drew.
Bruce Richardson, Victoria’s husband, said through his lawyer that the couple had been together for more than 40 years. They were business partners and ran several businesses around the country.
“She loved people, she loved working with people and being around people, and it is no surprise to him that she would stop on the side of the road last year,” the statement said.
Victoria also was a member of the Potomac-Greenough community center board and the school board for several years. The couple also had two children in their 20s. Richardson’s lawyer said the family has not forgiven Drew for the crime and wanted to see him go to prison.
He specifically asked the judge to sentence Drew to the maximum prison sentence allowed.
“Because of the decision the defendant has consciously made, Victoria no longer has life to enjoy. He stole that from her,” Bruce Richardson said later. “I don’t have the woman that I fell in love with over 40 years ago. Our kids no longer have their mom.”
One of the victims said her husband is still not working because of injury, and missed many months of his son’s early life with medical conditions. With the trauma of the event, she said she cannot forget the scene of the accident, and she had been diagnosed with PTSD.
“I hope and pray that you can turn your life around and spend this time differently and appreciate what you have in your friends and family that are here,” she said. “The impact to our family was great, but the impact to Victoria’s was greater.”
The couple offered forgiveness to Drew, but said they will not forget the incident and Drew should be responsible for his decision to drive that night. They said this is a turning point in his life, and that Drew should use the sentence as a way to better himself.
Drew’s old employer said the incident has turned his life 180 degrees. He said he lost his land and his place of residence. He said since the incident Drew has not failed a biweekly drug test.
Drew’s lawyer said that Drew understands the severity of the crime and was very sorry for the damage he caused from the crash. He said he had a long-term problem with meth, but was trying to quit before he got high on meth that night.
“I can assure you and these people here that I will never ever touch that stuff as long as I live, it destroyed my life,” Drew said.
Drew said he can’t imagine what the family has been going through after losing Victoria. He said he still sees the scene of the crash every night when he sleeps. The guilt and shame will not go away, Drew said.
“I can’t get that image out of my head, and I am not sure I should be able to, maybe that’s how it should be,” Drew said.
After five years in prison, Drew will be under probation for the next 25 years. If he violates probation, he could be sent back to prison. Some conditions include permission from a probation officer to drive.
He also owes roughly $27,000 in restitution fees.
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