BOZEMAN — Three years ago, 17-year-old Delaney Doherty was killed in a head-on crash on West Dry Creek Road near Manhattan. Now, a Montana Supreme Court ruling has left her family facing more uncertainty in the case.
Did Lilly LaRoque consent to the warrantless blood draw? Watch video here:
The other driver, Lilly LaRoque, was accused of driving under the influence at the time of the crash. According to court documents, a toxicology report showed THC and lorazepam in LaRoque’s blood. The charging documents also indicated she was likely texting while driving.
LaRoque was charged with vehicular homicide while under the influence.
Her trial was scheduled to begin last summer, but the case was put on hold after Gallatin County District Court Judge Andrew Breuner suppressed blood evidence.
LaRoque had been held in the Gallatin County Detention Center since November 2023. Her bond was reduced to $25,000 in June 2025, and she was released.
The Gallatin County Attorney’s Office appealed the decision to suppress the blood evidence to the Montana Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, the high court upheld Breuner’s decision to suppress the evidence.
“The District Court’s findings of fact were not clearly erroneous. There was substantial credible evidence for the court to conclude Laroque did not consent to the warrantless blood draw. We do not review the State’s good faith doctrine argument because it was raised for the first time on appeal. We therefore refuse to overturn the court’s decision on the motion to suppress.”
Following the ruling, the Doherty family expressed their devastation on social media.
The family also provided the following statement to MTN:
“My family and I were devastated and sickened by the news we received yesterday. We were hopeful the Supreme Court would get this right. All we have ever asked for is a fair trial for Delaney, one where all the evidence is allowed to be heard. Here we are, three years after her death and still no resolution. It is absolute torture enough having your child ripped away from you in this way. It’s an added torture to go through this process for so long only to get punched all over again. We are at a loss and as confused as everyone else following this. If our state and its laws are supposed to protect our children, our loved ones, and innocent citizens across the state, then we are failing when we let something like this happen. We have to do better. We owe it to Delaney and others to do better. If you get behind the wheel of a vehicle and you kill someone because of your irresponsible actions, then there has to be very serious consequences for that. Period. End of story. We are not seeing that here or oftentimes across our state. It is incredibly disheartening, and we need serious change.”
More information on the Supreme Court ruling: https://juddocumentservice.mt.gov/getDocByCTrackId?DocId=582250
The Gallatin County Attorney’s Office told MTN it does not have a comment on the ruling because the case is still pending.
RELATED: Manhattan mourns the loss of Delaney Doherty, beloved teen killed in head-on crash
