A Missoula County man will go to trial in February on multiple charges stemming from a high speed race which killed another driver.
Matthew Chase's trial is set for mid February, after a District Court judge decided not to follow a plea agreement.
Chase pleaded not guilty to seven felony charges including criminal endangerment and failure to remain at an accident scene on Wednesday morning.
He did plead guilty to misdemeanor charges of being a habitual traffic offender and for not carrying proof of insurance.
The Montana Highway Patrol reports that in August of 2008 Chase reached speeds of 120 mph an hour as he raced another vehicle on Highway 10.
They say he cut off the car he raced, causing it to run off the road and crash into a tree, taking the life of Jacob Bailey, 25, of Clinton.
(from the archives) A Missoula County man will be heading to trial for his role in a fatal crash after a judge would not accept the plea agreement.
Matthew Chase withdrew his guilty plea after a Missoula District Court judge decided not to follow the plea agreement.
The Montana Highway Patrol says that Chase reached speeds of 120 mph as he raced another vehicle on Highway 10 last August.
They say Chase cut off the Subaru he raced, causing it to run off the road and crash into a tree. The driver of the Subaru, Jacob Bailey, 25, of Clinton, died at the scene.
Chase's trial is scheduled for mid December.
(from the archives) A man charged with negligent homicide for his involvement in a crash near Turah, pleaded not guilty to the charges in Missoula District Court on Wednesday morning.
Prosecutors say Matthew Chase reached speeds of between 80 mph and 100 mph on Highway 10 East at the time of the crash.
Chase forced a Subaru which was carrying five people off the road while they were racing, causing the vehicle to crash into a tree.
The driver of the Subaru died at the scene and the other four passengers in the car were sent to the hospital.
Montana Highway Patrol troopers say alcohol and speed were both involved in this crash.
(from the archives)
A man facing negligent homicide charges for his part in a fatal crash near Turah earlier this month appeared in court.
Court documents show Matthew Chase, 21, says he was going 80 to 100 miles an hour on Highway 10 at the time of the crash. The Montana Highway Patrol says Chase raced another vehicle when he cut off a Subaru, causing it to run off the road and crash into a tree.
The driver of that Subaru, Jacob Bailey, 25, of Clinton, died at the scene. Four passengers in his car went to the hospital. One of the victims is still at St. Patrick hospital in FAIR condition. Chase did not know the victims before the crash. He met them at a bar in Turah.
Troopers say alcohol and speed were both involved in this crash.
The Montana Highway Patrol has charged a man for his involvement in a fatal crash near Turah earlier this month.
Matthew Chase, 21, was racing another vehicle on Highway 10, reaching speeds of 120 mph when the crash happened, according to the Montana Highway Patrol.
MHP officials said Chase cut off the Subaru he was racing, causing it to run off the road and crash into a tree.
The driver of the Subaru, Jacob Bailey, 25, of Clinton was pronounced dead on the scene and four passengers in the Subaru were taken to the hospital.
One of the victims is still at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula where she's listed in fair condition.
Chase is facing several charges including, negligent homicide, criminal endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident.
He is currently in jail on a $250,000 bond.
(from the archives)
The Montana Highway Patrol says they now have the vehicle which was racing the car involved in a Tuesday morning fatal crash in Turah.
They add that a Missoula man is in custody and will be facing charges.
Jacob Bailey, 25, of Clinton died Tuesday morning after he lost control of his vehicle on Highway 10 East and hit a tree.
Four other passengers were in the Subaru at the time of the accident. Parischia Ask, 19, of Clinton is in critical condition at St. Patrick Hospital while the three other passengers were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The MHP says that alcohol and speed were factors in the crash.
A man is dead after colliding into a tree near Turah early Tuesday morning in a crash that sent four other passengers have been sent to the hospital.
The Montana Highway Patrol says the accident happened just after 2:00 a.m. when a Subaru was heading west on U.S. Highway 10 east near mile marker 4.1.
The driver, Jacob Bailey, 25, of Clinton lost control of the vehicle went off the road and hit a tree. Five people were in the vehicle, all are from Clinton.
Bailey was pronounced dead on the scene and police say he was wearing a seatbelt.
Parischia Ask, 19, is in critical condition at St. Patrick hospital. She was not wearing a seatbelt.
Three other passengers, Xiara Ask, 18, Bradlee Beatty, 22, and Cari Buche, 15, were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The sheriff's department says speed and alcohol were factors in the crash. The MHP says they believe this crash was a result of a speed contest.
Passenger describes the crash:
Bradlee Beatty says his friend, Jacob Bailey, just got a new car and they wanted to go for a ride to show it off.
"One of the guys that we were talking to at the bar, he came flying past us, he kept cutting us off and we tried swerving back around and the driver in the car I was in over corrected and we ended up going into the ditch."
Beatty says they were racing another vehicle, reaching speeds of about 100 miles an hour, when they lost control and hit a tree.
"It was very scary, I thought I was gonna die, because we were going so fast and I didn't know if we were going to flip or hit a tree and like explode or so, I was just trying to like hang on for my life."
Beatty remembers Jacob as a good friend.
"We were pretty close and everything, hung out a lot, quite a bit. I worked with him, setting up trailers with my grandpa. He was a really funny guy, had good sense of humor."
Beatty adds he learned an important lesson from this crash.
"Definitely wear seatbelts, for sure. Definitely save your life and don't drink and drive."
Beatty says he was not wearing a seatbelt, and adds that he's very lucky to be alive.
A 25-year-old man is dead and four passengers were taken to the hospital following a one-vehicle collision near Turah early Tuesday morning.
The crash happened just after 2 a.m. when the driver of a Subaru heading west on Old Highway 10 near mile marker 4.1 lost control the vehicle, traveled off the road and collided with a tree, according to the Missoula County Sheriff's Department.
Speed and alcohol were factors in the crash, authorities said. Four passengers were taken to the hospital following the crash.
The five people in the vehicle are all from Missoula County. They were all wearing seatbelts.
The name of the victim is not being released at this time.
