Driver sentenced after change of plea | News, Sports, Jobs

Alexandre Essaim

A Berthold man who was the driver of a fatal car crash in November was sentenced after pleading guilty Tuesday to a vehicular homicide charge in North Central District Court.

Alexander James Swarm, 29, Berthold, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal vehicular homicide, a class A felony, following an accident on Nov. 18, 2023.

According to court documents, the officer dispatched to the scene arrived and found a passenger trapped in the vehicle and Swarm outside the vehicle. Swarm admitted to the officer that he had been drinking and driving, and that he did not know how much he had drunk or how fast the vehicle was going. The vehicle was traveling south on Tyler Street in Berthold, lost control and struck a tree. Swarm was placed under arrest for driving while intoxicated. Due to injuries sustained in the accident. Swarm was taken to hospital for treatment. The passenger in the vehicle died in the accident.

Judge Richard Hagar sentenced Swarm to first serve three years of a 10-year prison sentence, with three years of supervised probation, a chemical dependency evaluation, a victim impact panel and fines /fee of $1,025.