Manslaughter Count Filed In Traffic Death

A 35-year-old Sandpoint man with a history of drunken driving was charged with vehicular manslaughter Friday following a traffic accident that killed one of his passengers, police said.

Michael J. Hunt was driving east on Sagle Road near Sagle, Idaho, at about 9:20 Thursday night. Hunt was driving too fast and swerved off the road as he rounded a curve, according to an Idaho State Police report. The car skidded off the road and crashed into a large stump.

Gary L. Churchill, 45, and Robert A. Privette, 55, both of Sagle, were riding in the car with Hunt, the report stated. All three men were taken to Bonner General Hospital, where Churchill died.

On Friday, Bonner County Prosecutor Tevis Hull filed vehicular manslaughter charges against Hunt.

According to county records, Hunt has been charged with drunken driving three times in the past.The third drunken driving charge stemmed from an incident in 1983.

, DataTimes