A woman who intentionally crashed her truck into the Powell hospital in early 2024 was recently placed on probation for the crime.

Amid a mental health crisis in January 2024, Nicole M. Suhr drove her Dodge pickup into the emergency room doors at Powell Valley Hospital. It caused over $20,000 worth of damage and scared workers inside the building.

The case remained in legal limbo for over two years, as Suhr’s defense attorney and the Park County Attorney’s Office haggled over a potential plea deal.

Ultimately, Suhr agreed to accept five years of supervised probation on felony counts of property destruction and aggravated assault, plus a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of alcohol. The 46-year-old entered so-called Alford pleas to the three charges, which is when a defendant admits there’s enough evidence to convict them, but continues to assert their innocence.

Suhr has described the incident as a suicide attempt and said she wasn’t trying to hurt anyone else.

At her June 18 sentencing, District Court Judge Bill Simpson praised the defendant for the way she’s conducted herself since the crash.

“Sometimes, you know, people get into criminal court, they feel beat up, they feel humiliated,” Simpson said, according to a transcript of the hearing that was made public last week. “And I’m gonna tell you again, I do appreciate what you’ve done. I really do. And I think you’re trying, and that’s all we can ask of anybody.”

Through the doors

Suhr crashed into the hospital around 3 a.m. on Jan. 27, 2024, with her Dodge making it roughly 15 feet inside the building. 

Suhr said she had been aiming for the hospital’s brick wall, but, because she’d been drinking, she hit the glass doors instead.

The staffer at the ER desk told police that “she was afraid for her life,” Officer Kevin Bennett wrote in a charging affidavit, “as she was not sure what the driver was attempting to do.”

Suhr was able to drive her damaged truck away, but she was arrested a short time later in a Seventh Street parking lot. She reportedly told Powell police that “she knew exactly what she was doing and had a clear mind of doing so,” Bennett wrote. “Nicole [Suhr] was very relaxed about the encounter and would laugh about it at some points, making jokes about herself and the damage to her vehicle.”

She spent six days in jail before being released on a $10,000 surety bond for the next two-plus years.

Deal or no deal

The case was initially handled by former Deputy County Attorney Laura Newton, who reportedly offered a deferred prosecution agreement. While the details were never put in writing, such arrangements generally allow a defendant to avoid a felony conviction if they successfully complete a period of probation.

However, Newton left the office in May 2025 and Suhr’s defense attorney, Sam Krone, said he was subsequently told by County Attorney Bryan Skoric “that the state would not be offering a deferral … any longer.”

The parties continued discussing alternate plea deals, but as of early this summer, the case was set to go to trial. On June 18, however, Suhr decided to take the modified deal offered by Deputy Park County Attorney Larry Eichele and accept the two felony convictions.

In looking at the case, “we felt that the evidence would likely be sufficient to find her guilty of counts one and two,” Krone said, “despite her belief that, particularly with count two [the aggravated assault], that that would not fit.”

The aggravated assault charge says that Suhr attempted to cause serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon (her vehicle).

Krone called the Alford plea “an ideal compromise” and said the deal allowed his client to avoid the harsher penalties that would follow a conviction at trial. 

‘A horrendous act’

In a brief statement to the court, Suhr said she still didn’t think she was guilty of assault, “but I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

She reiterated that she was only trying to hurt herself in the crash.

“I made sure nobody was in the emergency room; I did a lap, nobody was in there,” Suhr said.

However, Judge Simpson pushed back, noting that Suhr didn’t know who might have been behind the hospital wall — or if someone had stepped into the ER.

“There were individuals in that room who were terrified when a car came crashing through and almost injured them, flying glass, debris, etc.,” Simpson said, adding, “those people will bear those scars, emotional and otherwise, for the rest of their lives.”

The judge said he wanted Suhr to move forward with her life, “but don't ever think for a minute that this was just a harmless thing where you tried to do harm to yourself and walk away from it.

“This was a horrendous act that could have potentially killed or injured others, including yourself,” Simpson said, adding, “you need to acknowledge that what you’ve done was very wrong, and there was no justification for it.”

Suhr said she understood. 

Five-figure restitution

Simpson also encouraged the defendant to reach out to counselors or others for help if she becomes depressed or has emotional issues in the future.

“You’re not alone,” he said.

The judge also commended Suhr for her efforts to improve herself and do the right thing in the wake of the crash.

“I’m proud of you,” he said, adding, “please, walk out of here with your head held high and know that you're never going to hurt anybody again. Do the right thing, abide by probation and you’ll be fine.”

Her probationary conditions include stay away from alcohol and completing and following the recommendations of a substance abuse evaluation. Suhr must also pay $10,000 in restitution to cover the deductible that the hospital paid to its insurer.

Suhr said she plans to sell her father’s truck to help settle that debt. Her father, 77-year-old Carl Wheeler, is currently serving an unrelated six- to eight-year prison sentence for embezzling $1.28 million from his former employer. Wheeler will need to come up with his own plan for repaying the stolen money whenever he’s released from custody; Wyoming Department of Corrections records say he’s currently set to become eligible for parole in August 2029.

As for Suhr, her probation is set to run through June 2031, though Simpson noted she could ask for that term to be reduced in the future.