Kalispell Man Charged in 2024 Fatal Crash Near Bigfork Pleads Not Guilty
Prosecutors allege John Hunter Speier, 42, was speeding and had alcohol and THC in his system when he crossed the center line 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 while he had alcohol and THC in his system has pleaded not guilty to a count of felony vehicular homicide while under the influence.
John Hunter Speier entered the plea in Flathead County District Court before Judge Dan Wilson at a Nov. 5 arraignment hearing. He posted a $150,000 bond shortly after his arrest in September 2026.
Speier’s jury trial is scheduled for March 8, 2027. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in the Montana State Prison and a $50,000 fine.
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 center line into the southbound lane and collided with a southbound vehicle. Records state that the southbound 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 were taken to the hospital and later interviewed. Toxicology results showed no substances in southbound driver’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 Montana Highway Patrol 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.