Jan. 17—A Kalispell motorist accused of leaving his passenger with two broken vertebrae after a drug-fueled vehicle wreck in 2023 earned a partially suspended sentence earlier this month.
Prosecutors charged Jason Robert Skalsky, 52, with felony negligent vehicular assault in the wake of the Feb. 25 wreck near the intersection of Woodland Avenue and Willow Glen Drive. Skalsky allegedly plowed into a retaining wall and later appeared impaired to responding Montana Highway Patrol troopers.
After securing a warrant for a blood draw, investigators found methamphetamine, amphetamine and fentanyl in Skalsky’s system, court documents said.
Arraigned in Flathead County District Court on May 4, 2023, Skalsky initially pleaded not guilty. He took a deal in August 2024 that saw him plead guilty by way of an Alford plea to an amended felony charge of criminal endangerment and one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence, first offense. In an Alford plea, a defendant maintains their innocence but acknowledges a jury likely would find them guilty.
Under the terms of the deal, prosecutors agreed to recommend Skalsky serve a suspended five-year sentence with the state Department of Corrections for the felony charge. For the drunk driving misdemeanor, prosecutors were to recommend six months in the county jail with all but one day suspended.
The agreement stipulated that Skalsky complete a chemical dependency assessment course and have his license suspended for six months. Prosecutors also agreed to drop a pending drug possession case against him.
At his Jan. 6, 2025, sentencing, though, Judge Amy Eddy handed down a 10-year sentence with five years suspended to the state Department of Corrections for the criminal endangerment charge. She stuck to the terms of the agreement for the drunk driving charge, ordering the two sentences to run concurrently. Eddy also gave Skalsky credit for 100 days of time served.
Eddy turned Skalsky over to the custody of the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office following sentencing. He remains in the county jail.
News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.