Mandan resident sentenced on charges in fatal crash

U.S. Attorney Drew H. Wrigley has announced that on Monday, Delmar M. Sheppard, 29, Mandan, formerly of Mandaree, N.D., was sentenced before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Daniel L. Hovland on a charge of involuntary manslaughter and a charge of assault resulting in

serious bodily injury.

Hovland sentenced Sheppard to serve four years and three months in

federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Sheppard was ordered to pay restitution of $297,759 and to pay $200 in special assessments to the Crime Victim's Fund.

The incident occurred in May 2008 on County Highway 23 between New Town

and Parshall. Sheppard was driving a motor vehicle eastbound when his vehicle crossed the center line into westbound traffic, crashing into three westbound vehicles. The driver of the first westbound vehicle swerved to the right to avoid a head-on collision with Sheppard, but the vehicle was sideswiped by Sheppard’s vehicle and went into the

ditch and overturned. The passenger was ejected and died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. The driver suffered serious bodily injury.

The second westbound vehicle, which was occupied by one adult and three children, was also sideswiped by Sheppard’s vehicle, went into the ditch and overturned, but no one was seriously injured. The third westbound vehicle, which was occupied by two adults and three children, was sideswiped by Sheppard’s vehicle, but was able to stay on the road and no one was seriously injured.

Sheppard’s blood alcohol content was .12.

An analysis of a blood sample drawn from Sheppard also demonstrated that Sheppard had ingested a prescription medication that was located within his motor vehicle but was prescribed to another person.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Three

Affiliated Tribes Police Department and Criminal Investigations Division, the North Dakota Highway Patrol and the Mountrail County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant United States Attorney Rick Volk prosecuted the case.

Tags: involuntary manslaughter, news, mandan, mandaree, crash, fatal, manslaughter