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Billings man charged in death of state road worker pleads not guilty

Posted at 2:40 PM, Dec 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-18 15:26:39-05

BILLINGS – A 28-year-old Billings man has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide charges in Yellowstone County District Court in the death of a Montana Department of Transportation road worker who was killed in a crash on Oct. 24.

Ethan James Anderson entered that plea before Judge Mike Moses. He also pleaded not guilty to two counts of criminal endangerment.

The crash happened at the I-90 off-ramp on South Billings Boulevard at exit 447 at approximately 3:30 p.m.

Jeff Dykeman, 52, was working the area with other construction workers on a road project at the time of the crash. He was struck and pinned by the flatbed truck and died at the scene.

According to court documents, Anderson was driving under the influence of Difluoroethane at the time of the crash.

Prosecutors say Anderson was severely impaired after ingesting or inhaling the compressed air cleaning substance known as Dust Off.

Bond has been set at $50,000 according to prosecutors with the Yellowstone County Attorney’s Office.

Story by Andrea Lutz, MTN News