MISSOULA — A judge has sentenced a 44-year-old man to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to causing the fatal crash of a shuttle car after leaving a festival in western Montana.
The Missoulian reports that James William Bayford’s sentencing on Monday followed a deal with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of negligent homicide and six counts of negligent endangerment.
Prosecutors said Bayford was riding in the shuttle to Missoula after being kicked out of the now-defunct Testicle Festival in August 2017. They say he jerked the steering wheel, causing the modified Jeep Wrangler to roll over on Interstate 90.
Killed in the crash were 33-year-old Vannessa Anderson and 36-year-old Donny Barlow. Friends and relatives of the victims attended Monday’s sentencing hearing.
Prosecutors had asked District Judge Robert “Dusty” Dechamps to sentence Bayford to 30 years in prison.