A 23-year-old Minnesota man has turned himself in after being charged with two counts of vehicular homicide following a car crash in July that left two local women dead.
Mason David Drake is currently being held on $500,000 bond in the Flathead County Detention Center. He is set to appear in court next month.
According to court records, Drake was driving down Montana Highway 35 east of Kalispell late on the night of July 4 when his vehicle crossed the centerline and crashed head-on into another truck. The collision killed both occupants of the other vehicle, identified in court documents as Katie and Alice Barten of the Kalispell area.
Drake had to be extricated from the wrecked pickup truck. Emergency responders reported an “overwhelming” odor of alcohol when dealing with Drake. A blood sample and test confirmed that Drake had been drinking.
If convicted, Drake could spend upwards of 60 years behind bars.