Woman pleads guilty to running over pedestrian

A 45-year-old Kalispell woman has pleaded guilty to felony negligent vehicular assault for running over a woman with a rental truck last year.

Susan Pajnich initially was charged with negligent vehicular assault and criminal endangerment and faced up to 10 years in prison for each charge. The second count was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Pajnich pleaded guilty by way of an Alford plea, meaning she maintains her innocence but acknowledges the overwhelming evidence against her.

According to court documents, two local residents were standing on South Hilltop Road in Columbia Falls on June 23 about 11:15 p.m. looking at an injured cat laying in the roadway when a northbound Budget truck hit one of the residents and kept going.

Samantha Stover described to the Hungry Horse News the serious injuries she suffered when the truck hit her head — five fractures to her right eye socket, a broken nose and jaw, fractured teeth, damage to her right tibia, and paralyzing nerve damage above her right eye. A compound fracture to her left forearm required three metal plates, she said.

Stover spent two days in the hospital and hasn’t been able to work since the accident. That could be an indefinite situation — her neurologist told Stover she may suffer from permanent mild traumatic brain injury.

A Montana Highway Patrol trooper tracked down the rental truck at a residence on Jellison Road and spoke to Pajnich. The trooper allegedly found two scuff marks on the truck’s front left bumper and a large red spot on the front suspension that appeared to be blood.

The trooper also reported that Pajnich’s breath smelled like alcohol and she appeared unsteady on her feet. She was transported to North Valley Hospital for a blood test that allegedly revealed a blood alcohol content of 0.28 percent.

Pajnich later told the trooper she recalled feeling a large bump while driving down South Hilltop Road. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 7.