Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - On February 24, 2023, a Montana Highway Patrol Trooper responded to a vehicle accident in Pattee Canyon. A Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Deputy was already on the scene. A vehicle was teetering along a snowbank on a very steep hill and the driver was identified as 22-year-old Sebastian Castellanos.  

The trooper observed that the vehicle had been traveling east on Pattee Canyon. Tire marks showed that the vehicle drifted off the roadway to the left, drove up a snowbank, and then down the snowbank for approximately 30 feet before getting high-centered on the snow. According to court documents, if the vehicle had not become high-centered, the vehicle would have crashed down a very steep incline.  

Sebastian said slick ice caused him to leave the roadway. As Sebastian sat in the trooper’s vehicle, the trooper could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage. Sebastian’s eyes were also red, bloodshot, and watery. The trooper said Sebastian would mumble his words when speaking and had a dazed expression as he spoke.  

Sebastian was placed under arrest and he consented to a breath test. The Intoxilizer came back as a deficient sample. The trooper then asked Sebastian to provide a blood sample, which he refused. The trooper applied for and was granted a search warrant for a blood draw from Justice of the Peace Beal. 

The trooper also learned that Sebastian has another pending DUI in Missoula Municipal Court. As the trooper was typing the warrant application, Sebastian spat all over the patrol vehicle including the rear window, doors, door windows, and cage. Sebastian then pulled out a cable running to the rear radar antenna.  

The trooper believes the vehicle will need new cables to repair the antenna and that the radar will have to be recalibrated. The trooper believes that the cost to repair and clean his vehicle will exceed $1,500. At the hospital during the blood draw, Sebastian would not cooperate and caused the blood draw tech to poke herself with a needle. Eventually, Sebastian had to be strapped down in a restraint chair for the blood draw.  

Sebastian is currently being charged with felony criminal mischief, DUI first offense, careless driving, and obstructing a peace officer. 

The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.

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