Officer Not To Blame For Teen Drinking Before Crash

Some of the beer that a teen driver drank before a fatal crash came from the home of an Osburn police officer, Shoshone County officials said Wednesday.

But county Prosecutor Dan McGee said the teen and two other underage friends took the five beers - which were hidden - from officer Diane Bowcutt’s home without Bowcutt’s knowledge. One of the three teens is Bowcutt’s daughter.

Bowcutt was on duty at the time of the drinking and crash, McGee said.

“I don’t see any culpability on her part,” McGee said. “She probably did as much as anybody could do to prevent it.”

McGee said the driver, 19-year-old Benjamin Hallman of Kellogg, apparently drank beer before and after he was at Bowcutt’s home. Based on statements by witnesses, McGee said, the five beers at Bowcutt’s home were “a drop in the bucket” compared to other beer Hallman drank that day. Hallman’s blood alcohol test results aren’t yet available from the Idaho State Patrol.

Investigators still aren’t sure where the other beer came from, McGee said.

After leaving Bowcutt’s home Dec. 1, Hallman picked up 18-year-old Diana M. Christopherson of Mullan and 19-year-old Connie Beardon of Kellogg.

The three were riding in Hallman’s 1994 Mazda pickup through Kellogg around 11 p.m. According to police, Hallman was involved in a minor crash in Kellogg, then sped away from the scene. He headed up Montgomery Gulch Road, came around a corner, and lost control of the pickup on the wet pavement. The truck went airborne over a 20-foot embankment and crashed against a tree.

Hallman and Christopherson died of injuries sustained in the crash. Beardon suffered a broken leg. None of the three wore seat belts.

Bowcutt was the third officer on the scene.

Rumors circulated around town after the crash that Bowcutt knowingly provided beer to the teens. McGee said investigators found no evidence or statements to substantiate that.

In fact, he said, Bowcutt twice told the teens there was to be no drinking, and hid the five cans of beer under her bed.

“She has the same problem as any single parent,” McGee said. “You can’t be there 24 hours a day.”

McGee said the teens tried to obtain beer to replace the five cans, so Bowcutt wouldn’t realize they’d been taken.

Bowcutt said Wednesday she feels terrible about the accident, but had no control over events.

“People make accusations, but I did nothing wrong,” she said. “I heard the rumor, but nobody’s approached me about it.”

“I think my daughter learned a very valuable lesson,” Bowcutt said. “It was one of her friends (that died in the crash).”

Hallman moved to the Silver Valley in 1993 to work as a laborer and bricklayer for Job Corps. Christopherson was a 1995 graduate of Mullan High School and worked at Sam’s Restaurant in Kellogg. She had recently been awarded a scholarship to the University of Idaho.

, DataTimes