BILLINGS - A man accused of causing the death of a Billings motorcyclist while fleeing from law enforcement was charged Tuesday with vehicular homicide.
Jimmy Joe Flanagan, 42, was charged less than 24 hours after prosecutors say he slammed a pickup truck into a motorcycle on Fourth Avenue North while attempting to elude a Yellowstone County sheriff's deputy.
Flanagan has yet to be arraigned in Yellowstone County District Court. He faces charges of vehicular homicide while under the influence, fleeing from or eluding a peace officer causing bodily injury or death, and five counts of criminal endangerment, all felonies. He remained Tuesday in the Yellowstone County jail.
According to charging documents, the incident began at about 8:30 p.m. Monday when a sheriff's deputy spotted a Ford F-150 on Interstate 94 towing a flatbed trailer carrying a stolen excavator headed west toward Billings. The deputy saw the trailer license plate matched those belonging to the trailer law enforcement had been looking for, court records state.
The deputy also noticed a tow chain on the trailer was dragging and sparking, and the driver failed to keep the vehicle within the lane while driving 58 mph in a 65 mph zone.
Near mile marker 453 on Interstate 90 the deputy activated his patrol vehicle lights and attempted a traffic stop, court records state. The driver failed to stop and "immediately accelerated" to 72 mph then drove off the highway at exit 452 and made his way toward Billings over the Dick Johnston Bridge.
While fleeing, the trailer "swayed significantly," court records state, and the truck reached speeds of about 55 mph on Highway 87 East by the MetraPark grounds.
"The Defendant blew through a red stoplight at the intersection of HWY 87E and 1st Ave. N. and turned west on 1st Ave. N.," court records state. "While doing so, the excavator shifted, tipping the trailer and dumping the heavy machinery into the road in the presence of other motorists. The Defendant picked up speed on 1st Ave. N., reaching 65 mph as cars spilled to the sides of the roadway."
The driver continued to flee, going the wrong way on several roads in the area before heading up North 20th Street at an estimated speed of 54 mph when he failed to stop at the stop sign at Fourth Avenue North and collided with the motorcycle. The motorcyclist, a 28-year-old man whose name has not been released, died at the scene.
Flanagan is accused of trying to flee the crash scene on foot but he was arrested. He was taken to Billings Clinic where he refused to provide a blood sample and "appeared dazed" and the deputy "detected the faint odor of alcohol," court records state. Later during an interview Flanagan "repeatedly appeared to fall asleep, stopped and started speaking, and repeated himself numerous times."
