Man found not guilty in vehicular homicide trial
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POLSON — A 24-year-old Missoula man charged with vehicular homicide while under the influence was found not guilty of the felony charge Friday afternoon in District Court.
William Hopkins Maus, the driver of a Honda Civic involved in a fatal crash in February 2009 in the Ninepipe area south of Ronan on U.S. Highway 93, was accused of driving under the influence of marijuana at the time of the crash. Joshua W. Stubbs, an 18-year-old Dixon man, was killed in the wreck, which involved three passenger vehicles and a logging truck.
Stubbs was driving a Ford Explorer and was waiting to make a left turn in the southbound lane of Highway 93 when he was rear-ended by Maus in his Honda Civic, forcing Stubbs into the path of a Kenworth logging truck traveling north. The logging truck collided with the passenger side of Stubbs’ vehicle, veered off the road to the west, knocked down a utility pole and came to rest in a field. The impact sent Stubbs’ vehicle back into the southbound lane, where he struck a southbound Dodge Caravan.
Stubbs was pronounced dead after being taken to St. Luke Community Hospital in Ronan. Maus and the driver of the logging truck were treated for minor injuries, and according to Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Tim Proctor, two of the five occupants of the Caravan also sustained minor injuries, and the other three were unharmed.
Proctor’s report on the accident stated that although the road was wet, and it was raining at the time of the crash, visibility and weather conditions were probably not factors in the crash.
A sample of Maus’ blood taken shortly after the crash revealed 5 NG/MG of THC and 49 NG/MG of THC-COOH.
Maus was also charged with a lesser offense of negligent homicide, but the jury did not reach a decision on that charge.
