BILLINGS — A Billings woman admitted Wednesday in Yellowstone County District Court that she was driving drunk on Interstate 90 when she caused a fatal crash.
Marcia Lynn Jefferson, 34, appeared before Judge Thomas Pardy and pleaded guilty to felony counts of negligent homicide and criminal endangerment and a misdemeanor DUI charge.
Jefferson was originally charged with vehicular homicide while under the influence, but that charge was reduced and the other charges added to the case as part of a plea agreement.
The plea agreement states prosecutors will recommend that Jefferson be ordered to serve a total sentence of 30 years in prison with 10 years suspended on all counts.
A sentencing date was not immediately set, and Jefferson was allowed to remain free on a previously posted bond.
Jefferson was driving a 2008 Jeep Cherokee westbound on Interstate 90 at about 90 mph on Dec. 31, 2022, when she lost control near mile marker 449.
The Jeep crashed through a fence, struck a tree and a shed before coming to rest on its top, partially inside a second shed.
A passenger in the Jeep, 34-year-old Glen Seth Myers, died at the scene.
Prosecutors alleged a blood sample taken from Jefferson shortly after the crash revealed she had a blood-alcohol content of 0.20%, more than twice the state legal limit for driving of 0.08%.
Jefferson has a prior misdemeanor DUI conviction.
The criminal endangerment charge stemmed from an allegation that the Jeep driven by Jefferson nearly struck another vehicle on the highway just prior to crashing.
