BILLINGS – A North Dakota woman who seriously injured two people after she drove into their car while intoxicated was sentenced Friday to a year and three months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.
Kaylee Shy Ann Little Coyote, 26, pleaded guilty in May 2026 to two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
U.S. District Judge William W. Mercer presided.
The government alleged in court documents that Little Coyote, with a blood alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit, drifted into oncoming traffic while driving her pickup truck on Highway 212 outside of Lame Deer. The wreck happened just before 6 a.m. on April 6, 2025.
First to arrive on the scene were BIA officers, who found a Ford F-150 and an SUV on the side of the highway, both with heavy front end damage. A woman was on the ground next to the SUV calling out in pain and a man was pinned inside between the dashboard and the driver’s seat. Little Coyote and her passenger in the truck were both injured; all four were taken to an area hospital for treatment. The two injured in the SUV were eventually taken to St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Billings. The woman had multiple vertebral and rib fractures and a perforated colon, which required surgery. The man sustained injuries to his lungs and shoulder.
Investigators learned Little Coyote had been traveling at 80 mph when she crossed the center line of the highway and struck the SUV. At the clinic, medical staff drew Little Coyote’s blood and found it had an alcohol concentration of 0.216%.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Yerger prosecuted the case. The BIA, Montana Highway Patrol, and Rosebud County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Montana — U.S. Department of Justice press release.