Fatal crash near Arlee leads to felony charges for driver
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ARLEE — After a one-vehicle crash early Friday morning left a man dead, the driver has been charged with felony vehicular homicide, and police are looking for information about a second vehicle that reportedly fled the scene after hitting the deceased man’s body.
Winston Morigeau Brown, 32, of Elmo, died at the scene of the wreck on U.S. Highway 93 near Saddle Mountain Road just north of Arlee.
Around 2:15 a.m. Friday, 32-year-old Christopher Joseph Gardipe of Arlee was driving a 1996 Chevrolet pickup truck southbound on Hwy. 93 when he drifted off the left side of the road. According to the Montana Highway Patrol, the pickup yawed back onto the highway and rolled several times, ejecting Brown and the other passenger, 22-year-old Evelyn Marie Charlo of Ronan. MHP Trooper Jim Sanderson said alcohol, speed and wet road conditions were all contributing factors in the crash.
Although authorities believe Brown was already dead at the time, eyewitnesses said another vehicle that was also swerving ran over Brown’s body and didn’t stop. Lake County Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Sargeant said due to the darkness and rain, witnesses couldn’t identify the make and model of the vehicle.
“I’m surprised we had any witnesses at all,” Sargeant said. “We are looking for anybody who was in that area (of U.S. Highway 93) at that time.”
Anyone driving on Hwy. 93 near Arlee around 2 or 3 a.m. Friday should contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Sargeant said. Any information could be helpful to the investigation, as people may not realize that something they saw is important, he added.
Gardipe was released on a $1,000 bond and ordered to wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet. According to Sargeant, Gardipe suffered a broken ankle and was “pretty banged up.”
Gardipe and Charlo were treated for injuries at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula.
