5th DUI for Intoxicated Driver at the Missoula County Fair

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - During the evening hours of August 8, 2024, several Missoula Police Department officers responded to a Missoula County Fair parking lot after receiving a report of an intoxicated driver. The witness informed an officer that a female left the parking lot in her vehicle and seemed “out of it.”

The female returned to the parking lot approximately 10-15 minutes later. Several passers-by told the officer that the female was “hanging on the side of her car.” The witness said the female moved “very slow”, seemed “noncommunicative”, and drove very slowly. He eventually saw the female sitting on the ground and initially thought she was unconscious. 

An officer located the female lying on the ground underneath the driver’s door of a vehicle. She appeared to be unconscious. As the officer approached, the female moved and identified herself as 54-year-old Kristy Hunt. Hunt could not stand and slurred her words. The officer requested that backup officers and medical personnel respond. While waiting for them, the officer learned Hunt was on probation for another DUI.  

Another officer arrived on scene and helped conduct Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. The officer could smell the strong odor of alcohol coming from Hunt’s breath. The officer noted that Hunt still could not stand, so she completed the HGN Test in a seated position. She demonstrated 6 out of 6 clues of impairment. She ultimately refused to perform the Walk-and-Turn Test and One-Leg-Stand Test. She also refused to provide a breath sample on the PBT unit.  

The officer arrested Hunt and read her Implied Consent. Hunt agreed to provide a breath sample. She provided a breath sample of .216 on the Intoxilyzer. On the drive to the jail, Hunt fell asleep in the patrol car. When woken, she slurred her words heavily. At the jail, an employee helped Hunt walk because she was barely able to do so on her own. 

READ MORE: Missoula News – Crime Reports 

According to court documents, Hunt has five prior DUI/BAC convictions. However, she has one prior felony DUI conviction from 2022, making this case a DUI-5, per statute. Hunt’s driver’s license is suspended out of Idaho and she does not have a valid Montana driver's license. 

Hunt is currently being charged with felony DUI and driving with a suspended/revoked license. Her bond was set at $20,000. 

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