Kalispell Man Charged in 2024 Fatal Crash on Highway 35 Near Bigfork
Prosecutors allege John Hunter Speier, 42, was speeding and had alcohol and THC in his system when he crossed the centerline and struck a vehicle, killing a passenger
By Maggie Dresser
A 42-year-old Kalispell man accused of killing a passenger in a November 2024 head-on collision on Montana Highway 35 near Bigfork has been charged with felony vehicular homicide while under the influence.
John Hunter Speier was booked into the Flathead County Detention Center on Sept. 26, nearly two years after the crash, with bond set at $150,000. He posted bail and was released Tuesday. He is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Nov. 5 in Flathead County District Court before Judge Dan Wilson.
According to an affidavit filed Sept. 18, 2026 by Flathead County Attorney Travis Ahner, law enforcement received a report of a two-vehicle crash on Highway 35 near Bigfork at 11:16 p.m. on Nov. 25, 2024.
Montana Highway Patrol troopers who responded concluded that Speier was driving northbound at 97 mph in a 65-mph zone when he crossed the centerline into the southbound lane and collided with a southbound vehicle. Records state that the vehicle’s driver had steered onto the shoulder.
Juanis Moreno Martinez, a passenger in the southbound vehicle, died at the scene of blunt force trauma caused by the crash, according to a coroner’s report.
Speier and the southbound driver, Jesus Travieso, were taken to the hospital and later interviewed. Toxicology results showed no substances in Travieso’s blood, according to charging documents. Speier’s blood alcohol content was .038, and his blood contained 20 nanograms of THC per milliliter, more than four times Montana’s per se limit for THC, the documents state.
The MHP trooper concluded in the investigation that Speier caused the death of Martinez when he struck an oncoming vehicle while speeding 32 mph over the posted limit and crossed the center line in the dark on wet and winding roads with alcohol and THC in his system.