Timothy Hodgson

Prosecutors are pursuing a felony charge against an alleged drunk driver who reportedly hit another vehicle and injured a teen in Cody last month.

Former Cody resident Timothy C. Hodgson is facing a count of aggravated assault and battery that alleges he caused bodily injury with a deadly weapon — specifically, his vehicle. Hodgson, 38, also faces misdemeanor counts of driving while under the influence, property destruction, leaving the scene of an accident and driving without valid auto insurance.

Charging documents say a breath test administered after the Jan. 29 crash put Hodgson’s blood alcohol level at 0.317% — nearly four times the legal driving limit of 0.08%. At a court hearing last week, Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Hatfield called the alcohol level “ridiculous for driving. And that’s why he’s charged with a felony.”

Cody Police Officer Phillip Woods contended in an affidavit that Hodgson “knowingly and willfully put others in danger when he decided to drive his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.” Woods said that decision resulted in a crash and injuries.

Hodgson’s sedan is alleged to have collided with another vehicle at the intersection of 17th Street and Beck Avenue shortly before 10 p.m. on Jan. 29. Hodgson then drove off, authorities say, prompting the other driver to follow him a few blocks to 14th Street and Alger Avenue.

The driver apparently wasn’t injured, but the affidavit indicates that the woman’s 16- or 17-year-old daughter suffered whiplash and bruised her knees; the girl was taken to Cody Regional Health.

When Cody police arrived at the scene, Hodgson allegedly admitted that he’d hit the other vehicle and offered that he’d drunk about three-quarters of a bottle of whiskey. He later failed sobriety tests, Woods wrote, and police found a mostly empty bottle of whiskey plus three others within reach of the driver’s seat.

Hodgson also had a small bag of apparent hallucinogenic mushrooms in his vehicle, the affidavit says, but he reportedly told police he hadn’t consumed any that night.

At a Feb. 1 appearance in Park County Circuit Court, Hodgson said he was passing through the area while awaiting seasonal positions to open in Yellowstone or Glacier national parks; although he has longstanding ties to Cody, he’d recently been living in Seattle. Hatfield used the defendant’s transient status as one reason to argue for a $25,000 bond, along with “the very serious nature of the charges.”

The prosecutor noted that Hodgson was previously charged with aggravated assault in Park County, back in 2011, and wasn’t arrested in that charge until last August. However, by the time he was taken into custody, the victim had died and the county attorney’s office quickly dismissed the charge.

“Due to the extreme delay, we couldn’t prove our case anymore,” Hatfield explained in court. He added that the old case was “questionable,” but “notwithstanding that, he [Hodgson] was still a fugitive for almost 12 years on a felony case.”

Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah went along with Hatfield’s $25,000 bond recommendation. As of Wednesday, Hodgson remained in the Park County Detention Center, awaiting a preliminary hearing that’s scheduled for Friday.

Hatfield said he intends to add a count related to the mushrooms after receiving test results and will upgrade the property destruction charge to a felony if the damage to the other vehicle is determined to have topped $1,000.