BOZEMAN — A Bozeman man is accused of killing his passenger in a vehicle crash while driving under the influence on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024.
Christopher Ray Daniel Menser, 35, is facing multiple charges, including vehicular homicide while under the influence.
According to the Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) fatality crash report, the crash happened around 8:11 a.m. on Saturday near the intersection of Baxter Lane and Monforton School Road.
Charging documents say Menser was driving west on Baxter Lane when he went off the road to the left at a speed of 60-65 miles per hour. He reportedly struck a fence and other objects before a horizontal fence post crashed through the windshield and hit his passenger in the head.
The MHP fatality report said the passenger, a 43-year-old Bozeman man, was taken to the hospital where he later died from his injuries. Charging documents say Menser lived in a camper off Wheat Drive with the man, who Menser allegedly said had shot up heroin or methamphetamine Saturday morning.
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According to charging documents, Menser told the responding MHP trooper that a deer came into the road and he swerved to avoid it. The trooper reported Menser as having “jerky” movements with pinpoint pupils and said Menser would not make eye contact.
Menser allegedly admitted to the trooper that he had eaten mushrooms the night before after smoking marijuana earlier in the day on Friday, Dec. 6.
The trooper said Menser admitted to smoking marijuana with a group of people around 5 a.m. on Saturday at the Motel 6 on Wheat Drive. Menser reportedly told the trooper the man who supplied the marijuana liked to lace it with meth.
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The trooper said Menser was talkative at the scene, but once he was transported to the hospital, he would fall asleep in the middle of a conversation. Menser allegedly said “I’m definitely coming down off something” after leaving the hospital.
According to charging documents, Menser said he was heading to work the morning of the crash and has been employed for two or three weeks. The trooper said in his report that Menser has no known ties to the community.
Menser appeared in Gallatin County Justice Court on Monday where his bail was set at $100,000. His next court date is scheduled for Dec. 27, 2024.
