GREAT FALLS, Mont. (NMB) – A Harlem man pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Great Falls last week to the charge of felony involuntary manslaughter for his alleged role in a crash that left one person dead.
Taylor Gardipee Walker, 22, entered the plea before Judge John T. Johnston.
Walker was released pending further proceedings.
Walker, a Fort Belknap Tribal member, was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury last month.
The indictment alleges that Walker’s reckless driving on January 1st, 2020, on the Fort Belknap Reservation resulted in the death of an unnamed female victim.
The information provided is consistent with the fatal ATV crash on January 1st that killed 30-year-old Leah Fox of Harlem.
Reports say that the single-vehicle ATV crash occurred when a speeding ATV hit a patch of ice while turning a corner. The ATV rolled and ejected the driver, who is believed to have been Walker, and Fox, the passenger.
The jury trial in the case is set to begin November 17th.
If convicted, Walker faces a maximum eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Fort Belknap Law Enforcement.
