GRAND FORKS, ND (trfnews.i234.me) — The trial of Travis Dean Bell, a 43-year-old resident of Fordville, North Dakota, has been postponed. Bell faces charges including Class A felony criminal vehicular homicide and Class C felony criminal vehicular injury. The Class A felony carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
The charges stem from a two-vehicle collision on June 3 at the intersection of Highway 2 and Airport Road, west of Grand Forks. The incident resulted in serious injuries to 26-year-old Nicole Louthain and the subsequent death of her 6-year-old daughter, Katarina Louthain. Court documents indicate that Bell allegedly ran a red light, colliding with Louthain’s vehicle.
At the scene, law enforcement suspected Bell of alcohol impairment, noting his physical appearance and the odor of alcohol. Field sobriety tests were administered, showing minimal errors. However, chemical tests recorded blood alcohol concentrations between 0.123% and 0.130%, exceeding the legal limit of 0.08%.
On January 2, during a scheduled dispositional conference, Bell’s attorney, Mark Friese, announced a motion filed on December 19 to exclude the chemical test results from the trial. Friese contends that the tests were obtained in violation of statutory procedures and infringed upon Bell’s due process rights.
According to Friese, North Dakota State Highway Patrol Trooper Austin Erickson arrested Bell for criminal vehicular injury and allegedly threatened additional charges when Bell initially refused a chemical breath test. Despite Bell’s expressed confusion regarding his legal rights, Erickson insisted on an immediate decision. After re-reading the implied consent advisory, Bell consented to the test.
Under North Dakota law, operating a motor vehicle implies consent to chemical testing to determine sobriety. Friese argues that implied consent advisories are pertinent primarily to DUI charges, whereas Bell was arrested for criminal vehicular injury prior to testing. Consequently, Friese asserts that the chemical test was improperly obtained and should be excluded from trial. Additionally, he claims that compelling the test under threat of penalties, irrelevant without a DUI charge, violated Bell’s due process rights.
The state has yet to respond to the motion. A hearing to address this matter will be scheduled, with the date pending.
I’m Chris Harper, reporting for trfnews.i234.me