Man accused in fatal wreck appears in court

The man accused in the April 23 wrong-way crash that killed Fallon Montanucci pleaded no contest to three traffic infractions he’d received 10 weeks before the fatal wreck.

Matthew Joseph Premo, 26, appeared in East Fork Justice Court on Wednesday where a July 14 preliminary hearing was confirmed.

Premo was cited Feb. 13 for unlawful use of a cell phone, driving left of center and driving with a suspended registration after a deputy observed him using his cell phone and wandering out of his lane.

Justice of the Peace Paul Gilbert sentenced him to three days, counted as time served.

Premo has been in custody in lieu of $450,000 since he was taken into custody on May 10 after he got out of the hospital for injuries he received in the crash.

Lab results were expected to be released to defense attorney Maria Pence, who expressed concerns that she might not have the Nevada Highway Patrol report with sufficient time to go through it.

Premo is scheduled to return to the court on June 29 for a status hearing.

While prosecutors put on evidence and witnesses, the hearing doesn’t determine guilt or innocence just that there is slight or marginal evidence that a crime occurred, and that the accused could have committed it.

Should Premo be bound over he would be given a district court date.

He is facing felony charges of driving under the influence causing death and substantial bodily harm in the death of Montanucci and injury to her sister Avalon.

If convicted, he could face 2-20 years on each felony count.

According to court documents, the Montanucci sisters were southbound on Highway 395 at around 4 a.m. when Premo was driving a rented pickup loaded with concrete the other direction.