BILLINGS - A Billings woman admitted Wednesday in Yellowstone County District Court that she was driving drunk on Interstate 90 when she caused a fatal crash.
Marcia Lynn Jefferson, 34, appeared before Judge Thomas Pardy and pleaded guilty to felony counts of negligent homicide and criminal endangerment and a misdemeanor DUI charge.
Jefferson was originally charged with vehicular homicide while under the influence, but that charge was reduced and the other charges added to the case as part of a plea agreement.
The plea agreement states prosecutors will recommend that Jefferson be ordered to serve a total sentence of 30 years in prison with 10 years suspended on all counts. A sentencing date was not immediately set, and Jefferson was allowed to remain free on a previously posted bond.
On Dec. 31, 2022, Jefferson was driving a 2008 Jeep Cherokee westbound on Interstate 90 at about 90 mph when she lost control near mile marker 449. The Jeep crashed through a fence, struck a tree and a shed before coming to rest on its top partially inside a second shed.
A passenger in the Jeep, 34-year-old Glen Seth Myers, died at the scene.
Prosecutors alleged a blood sample taken from Jefferson shortly after the crash revealed she had a blood-alcohol content of 0.20 percent, more than twice the state legal limit for driving of 0.08 percent. Jefferson has a prior misdemeanor DUI conviction.
The criminal endangerment charge stemmed from an allegation that the Jeep driven by Jefferson nearly struck another vehicle on the highway just prior to crashing.
Watch prior Q2 coverage of the fatal crash
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