Man plans guilty pleas in fatal wrong-way crash

The man accused of being drunk in the April 23 wrong-way collision that killed Fallon Montanucci plans on entering a guilty charge to two felonies when he appears in Douglas County District Court, according to his attorney.

Matthew Joseph Premo, 27, waived a preliminary hearing in East Fork Justice Court on Wednesday.

“He did that in order to move his case into district court, where he plans on pleading guilty to both counts, without the benefit of a plea agreement,” defense attorney Maria Pence said on Thursday. “He does not want to put the Montanucci family through a trial and is taking full responsibility for his actions.”

Premo was bound over on revised felony charges of driving a vehicle while being under the influence of alcohol resulting in death and substantial bodily harm in the collision.

Prosecutor Chelsea Mazza confirmed that there were no negotiations in the case.

According to court documents, the Montanucci sisters were southbound on Highway 395 at around 4 a.m. as Premo drove north at speeds of 90-100 mph.

According to the new information, Premo drove a silver Ford F-150 north from the intersection with Highway 88.

The head-on collision between the Ford, prosecutors said was filled with concrete supplies, and the Hyundai Accent the Montanucci sisters were in resulted in Fallon’s death and severe injury to Avalon in the passenger’s seat.

Mazza said in court that a blood draw at the hospital revealed a blood alcohol content of .266 just over two hours after the collision.

If convicted of the charges, Premo could face up to two decades in prison.

He has been in custody since May 10 after he was released from the hospital with his own injuries.