Helena mayor, US Senate candidate found not guilty of leaving crash scene

Nov. 22--A jury found Helena mayor and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Wilmot Collins not guilty of leaving the scene of a May 20 crash.

The jury delivered its verdict after nearly two hours of deliberation Thursday in Justice Court in Helena.

"Anyone who knows (Collins), knows that's ridiculous," Collins' attorney Brian Miller said of the charge during his closing argument.

In May, Collins admitted to rear-ending another vehicle but pleaded not guilty to leaving the scene of the crash.

Collins requested a jury trial, which was moved from the City Attorney's office into the hands of Deputy County Attorney Josh Nemeth because of a potential conflict of interest.

The incident occurred the afternoon of May 20 when Collins rear-ended Kimberly Doherty, a 35-year-old Butte woman, while both were attempting to make a right turn onto westbound Lyndale Avenue from Last Chance Gulch.

According to court testimony, Doherty then pulled into the Bloom Montessori School parking lot, and when Collins continued to travel down Lyndale Avenue, she began to chase after him in her vehicle.

Doherty said in court testimony that Collins eventually pulled into the Van's Thriftway parking lot in the 300 block of Euclid Avenue only after she "laid on her horn" to get his attention and that Collins provided her only his business card before leaving.

"We didn't even talk long enough to exchange that info (insurance and vehicle registration)," Doherty said from the witness stand. "He wouldn't wait for me. He handed me a business card and left."

Collins said in court testimony his foot slipped off his brake pedal while waiting to make the right turn behind Doherty.

"I felt a jolt, but only because I hit the breaks," Collins said, adding that Doherty gave no indication that a collision occurred.

Both agreed she did not turn on her vehicle's hazard lights.

Collins said he pulled into the Van's parking lot after he noticed that the same vehicle, Doherty's white Honda CRV, was now behind him and the driver was honking the horn.

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According to Collins' testimony, the interaction was "cordial," and Doherty recognized him from previous interactions at her former job.

Collins said he told her to take her vehicle to an auto body shop of her choosing, and that he would pay for the repairs.

While Doherty claimed Collins left the parking lot quickly, Collins claimed he watched her begin to leave the area before he drove off.

Video surveillance footage played during the trial confirmed the two began to leave the parking lot simultaneously before, unbeknownst to Collins, Doherty circled back to the parking lot.

She said she was moving her vehicle to another part of the lot to wait for police to arrive, though she did not call law enforcement until after her husband advised her over the phone to do so and after the interaction with Collins took place.

"We shook hands. She said she trusted me," Collins said from the witness stand. "After we had our exchange, I thought we were leaving."

Collins was fined $50 plus a $35 surcharge for careless driving.

Helena police Sgt. Don Skidmore, the shift manager on duty at the time of the accident, was called to the scene by the responding officer.

Skidmore told Justice of the Peace Mike Swingley during his testimony that once he found out the mayor was involved, he reported the incident to command staff, which is "standard protocol when investigating a public official."

The ensuing investigation lasted multiple days and involved interim Chief of Police Steve Hagen.

In a news release sent out by the mayor's U.S. Senate campaign manager Trent Bolger, Collins said, "I have always maintained I did not leave the scene of the accident I had in May and I'm glad the truth prevailed. This is why we have a justice system where people are presumed innocent until proved guilty."

Bolger questioned the county attorney's decision to file the charge.

"It is unfortunate that the county attorney's office has wasted taxpayer money and the valuable time of the court by refusing to consider all the facts before they filed charges for this very minor traffic accident and has refused to look at any evidence presented after they decided to charge Mayor Collins," Bolger said in the news release.

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