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Trucker Convicted, Didn’t Stay at Scene of Fatal Big Timber Crash

Investigators believe several vehicles ran over victim's body before officers found it

By Molly Priddy

BIG TIMBER — A truck driver was convicted Wednesday of failing to report a crash on Interstate 90 in south-central Montana where an 81-year-old Alaska man was killed a year ago.

David Welk, 45, was convicted in Sweet Grass County District Court. District Judge Katherine Bidegaray ordered a presentence investigation and did not set a sentencing date.

Elgie Bedford of Wasilla, Alaska, died early on Sept. 30, 2013. Investigators believe several vehicles ran over his body before officers discovered it at about 7:30 a.m.

Welk was arrested in Iowa on Jan. 23 after his co-driver reported that the truck hit something in Montana.

Defense attorneys argued investigators couldn’t determine how many times Bedford was struck, but prosecutors argued Welk should have reasonably known he hit a person. His co-driver told investigators they went back and picked up a headlight that fell off the truck in the collision.

A Washington state woman who drove through the area is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash and tampering with evidence. The trial for 31-year-old Wyran Young is set for November. Her father, Westley Young, 50, is charged with evidence tampering.

Court records allege they ran over Bedford’s remains and left some of his body parts at a car wash in Livingston, 40 miles away.

Bedford’s family said he was traveling from Alaska to Paris, Texas, to spend time with his children and grandchildren.

His car had gone off the road near and crashed into a fence near Big Timber, but investigators were unable to determine why.