A 37-year-old Billings woman is facing a pair of felony charges in connection with a fiery 2023 crash in Ralston that severely injured her two children and herself.
Adeline R. Deputee is alleged …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
The Powell Tribune has expanded its online content. To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, or purchase a subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free web account by clicking here.
If you already have a web account, but need to reset it, you can do so by clicking here.
If you would like to purchase a subscription click here.
Please log in to continue |
|
A 37-year-old Billings woman is facing a pair of felony charges in connection with a fiery 2023 crash in Ralston that severely injured her two children and herself.
Adeline R. Deputee is alleged to have been drunk at the time she crashed, and faces two counts of aggravated assault and battery.
“Ms. Deputee caused serious bodily injury to both [children] recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life,” Wyoming Highway Patrol Lt. Lee Pence wrote in a charging affidavit.
The affidavit says Deputee’s 9-year-old son suffered disfiguring burns on most of his body and had to have both legs amputated below the knees; her 6-year-old daughter reportedly suffered a broken bone in her arm and a traumatic brain injury.
Deputee also suffered extensive injuries. Although she didn’t explicitly say whether they were tied to the crash, Deputee said in court that she’s undergone multiple surgical procedures and physical therapy for injuries to her spine, clavicle, leg and other portions of her body.
Authorities spent months looking for Deputee before arresting her in Billings in early April. She turned herself in to the Park County Detention Center on Wednesday and then posted a $25,000 surety bond on Saturday evening to be released.
A fiery crash
Deputee’s initial Friday appearance in Park County Circuit Court came roughly 17 months after the crash, which occurred on Dec. 10, 2023.
It was shortly after 5 p.m. that day that a citizen reported a westbound Ford Expedition going 90 mph with no headlights on U.S. Highway 14A. When the SUV reached the railroad tracks outside Ralston, it was traveling an estimated 79 mph in the 45 mph zone, Pence wrote in his affidavit.
The Expedition went off the right-hand side of the road and Deputee lost control, the affidavit says. She slid across the highway, hit the opposite curb and went airborne, the patrol has said.
The SUV flew about 200 feet through the air and rolled down an embankment before becoming engulfed in flames.
Deputee’s daughter was apparently ejected from the vehicle, while Deputee and her son were eventually able to get out, the patrol has said; first responders helped pull them away from the flames.
Alcohol was immediately suspected to have been a factor, the affidavit indicates, as an investigator noted “several” empty White Claw Hard Seltzers amid the debris and a Park County sheriff’s deputy said Deputee smelled like alcohol.
A later blood test found 232 milligrams of alcohol per deciliter of Deputee’s blood, the affidavit says, which is equivalent to a 0.232% blood alcohol content. A person is presumed to be too drunk to safely drive when their BAC hits 0.08%.
Lengthy legal process
Pence completed his affidavit in July 2024, recommending the two counts of aggravated assault plus two additional counts of child abuse. The Park County Attorney’s Office filed the aggravated assault charges in October 2024, but Deputee wasn’t taken into custody until early April in Billings.
She was released on a $15,000 surety bond on April 7 in Montana, court records show, and turned herself in at the Park County Law Enforcement Center on Wednesday night.
Her defense attorney, William Appleton, said part of the delay stemmed from some confusion: Deputee’s children are currently in the custody of a family member in Billings, he said, and “child protective services had indicated that she could not leave Montana or she would lose visitation.”
After the attorney explained to Deputee “that a warrant with the court trumps anything that child protective services would have advised her to do or not do,” Appleton said his client quickly turned herself in.
He asked for bail to be set at $1,500 cash or surety, while Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Eichele asked for $25,000 cash.
Eichele asked the court to consider the seriousness of charges, including “the allegation of driving while under the influence and then causing these horrific injuries.” He also noted that “she’s been gone [from Park County] for a long time.”
Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah opted to modestly relax the state’s request and set bond at $25,000 cash or surety. However, the judge also required Deputee to wear a GPS device and to generally stay in Park and Big Horn counties outside of medical appointments.
Deputee is tentatively scheduled to reappear before the court on May 19 for a preliminary hearing.