Montana man is charged following a fatal crash close to Livingston

Following a car accident south of Livingston that claimed the life of one guy and critically injured another, a Belgrade man is now being charged with a crime.

According to court records, on October 6, 2022, on Highway 89 at the Gray Owl fishing spot close to Emigrant, Jonah Spencer Stands, 26, was operating a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck when it crashed into the back of a Chrysler Town & Country van.

Jerry Jessen was riding in the van when its driver, Ernest Jay Dixon, was slain, leaving him with lower-body paralysis.

According to a toxicology report, Stands was neither intoxicated nor using drugs at the time of the collision.

According to police reports, Stands said he did not notice the stopped van until just before the collision.

Stands is accused of careless driving causing serious physical injury or death and negligent murder.