One of the first tests of “Bobby’s Law” has netted a not-guilty plea from 36-year old Tyrel Lee Eaton. He remains in the Flathead County Detention Center on $250,000 bail.
Under “Bobby’s Law,” a bill carried in the Legislature by Rep. Braxton Mitchell, a Republican from Columbia Falls, Eaton could spend up to 30 years in prison and be fined up to $50,000.
It’s a blood-stained windshield that could be enough to convict Eaton of vehicular homicide while under the influence. The crash happened nearly 18 months ago on Halfmoon Road north of the railroad tracks. In the crash, an unidentified 53-year old man died while the other sustained only minor injuries. The “other” man was Eaton.
Here’s where some interesting forensic investigation came in. The man who survived — Eaton — claimed that the man who died was driving. Troopers found both men outside the crashed vehicle. Eaton, who survived, appeared to have been intoxicated. There were apparently no witnesses to the actual crash, but a person who came upon the crash told troopers he saw both men outside the vehicle.
The forensic work showed heavy blood stains on the driver’s side windshield…blood that matched Eaton’s. That lead investigators to believe that Eaton was the actual driver — and, it was enough to charge him with the felony.
