Following a lengthy investigation, authorities concluded that a fatal 2024 crash outside of Cody was caused by drunk driving and they’re now pursuing vehicular homicide charges.

The suspected drunk driver, 47-year-old Craig R. Spandl, was taken into Park County’s custody this week on three felony charges and is set to make his first court appearance on Friday. Spandl is alleged to have caused the death of Craig Johnson, a 77-year-old Arizona resident.

Charging documents say the head-on crash occurred around 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 17, 2024 on Wyo. Highway 120 north of Cody. Spandl was heading south, toward Cody, when his Dodge Ram 2500 reportedly crossed the centerline and collided with Johnson’s northbound Mazda CX-5.

There was no indication that either vehicle attempted to stop before the crash and both were likely traveling at around 70 mph, Trooper Kraig McInally wrote in an affidavit filed in support of the charges.

The Mazda rolled and Johnson suffered severe injuries, dying at the scene.

As for Spandl, he was reportedly unconscious when McInally arrived and was flown by helicopter to Billings Clinic Hospital for treatment of his injuries.

McInally said no one noticed any signs of impairment while attending to Spandl and there were no signs of drugs or alcohol in his truck.

However, the trooper later sent a request to the Montana Highway Patrol, asking them to obtain Spandl’s medical records from Billings Clinic. McInally got the records in early February 2025. He says they showed a blood sample that was taken from Spandl around 4 a.m. — roughly two-and-a-half hours after the crash — had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.125%.

The trooper noted that’s above the 0.08% level at which a person is legally considered to be too impaired to drive. Further, “with the delay time of the blood sample it is likely Spandl’s BAC was even higher at the time of the crash,” he wrote in the December affidavit.

In early January, the Park County Attorney’s Office charged Spandl with two variations of aggravated homicide by vehicle: one alleges he caused Johnson’s death while driving impaired and the other that he did so by driving in a reckless manner. Additionally, Spandl faces a count of aggravated assault and battery that alleges he caused serious bodily injury “intentionally, knowingly or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.”

Spandl was arrested in Lake Havasu, Arizona, on Feb. 6, according to the Park County Sheriff’s Office. He was brought to the Sweetwater County Detention Center last week and then picked up by the Park County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday.