C-Falls woman pleads not guilty to DUI No. 4

A 56-year-old Columbia Falls woman pleaded not guilty to felony DUI on Nov. 21 in Flathead County District Court.

Mary Long faces 13 months with the Department of Corrections followed by a five-year consecutive and suspended prison sentence and a $1,000 to $10,000 fine if convicted.

According to the Montana Highway Patrol trooper who responded to an Aug. 5 accident on the North Fork Road, rescue personnel had already removed Long from the one-vehicle crash when he arrived.

The trooper reported Long admitted crashing her vehicle in a suicide attempt. He also reported smelling alcohol on her breath and seeing an open and empty rum bottle at the accident site.

Long allegedly admitted buying two bottles of rum earlier in the day and drinking most of one bottle before heading up the North Fork Road. She was transported to North Valley Hospital for her injuries. A blood draw there revealed she had a 0.108 BAC, above the 0.08 limit for driving.

A search of her past driving history turned up DUI convictions in March 2002, October 2007 and August 2011.

Long, who has lived in the community since 1998, was eventually released on her own recognizance with a SCRAM device and assigned a public defender. Her omnibus hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15.